Viktor Orlov

One of the first Russian oligarchs following the crash and burn of communism and the Russian economy in the early 1990s. He “had been working as a physicist in the Soviet nuclear weapons program when the empire finally collapsed. While most of his colleagues continued to work without pay,” Orlov went into business importing computers, appliances, and other Western goods to Russia. He then “acquired Russia’s largest steel company and Ruzoil, the Siberian oil giant.” Upon taking office, “The current Russian president” demanded that Orlov give up his steel company and Ruzoil. Orlov agreed to the steel company but not Ruzoil, So [Pu*in] “ordered prosecutors to open a fraud-and-bribery investigation, and within a week a warrant was issued for Orlov’s arrest.” Orlov fled to London and Russian requested his extradition. In book 9, he is pressured to give up Ruzoil, too.