Last Days of the First Oligarch

With Boris Berezovsky’s death at the end of March, a Russian era came to a close.

Berezovsky was the embodiment of 1990s Russian oligarchy. He pulled the political strings during the Yeltsin era and even cleared Vladimir Putin’s path to power, only to see Putin turn on him, forcing him to flee Russia.

Berezovsky was found by his bodyguard, in the bathroom of the oligarch’s suburban London home. Clues at the scene led police to conclude that the 67-year-old’s death was “consistent with hanging.” Yet an investigation was still in progress at press time, and toxicology results were still pending.