Obituary: Boris Berezovsky
Mr Berezovsky lived in exile in the UK since 2000
Russian dissident Boris
Berezovsky was a former Kremlin power broker whose fortunes went into
dramatic decline as Vladimir Putin established himself as Russian
president.
He remained a wanted man in Russia until his death, and was for a long time dedicated to the anti-Putin cause.
In recent years, his wealth is thought to have considerably diminished and recent court cases have left him struggling to pay legal fees and other debts.
In 2012 a court battle in London with fellow "oligarch" Roman Abramovich, his former associate with whom he fell out as Mr Putin came to power, ended in defeat, with his allegations that he was intimidated by Mr Abramovich into selling shares in Russian oil giant Sibneft for a "fraction of their true worth" entirely rejected by the judge.
Sources told the BBC that he had been depressed after losing the case, and moved suddenly out of his offices in central London.
And earlier this year, his ex-partner Yelena Gorbunova alleged in the High Court that he owed her millions of pounds from the sale of a £25m property in Surrey.
On 18 March The Times newspaper reported that Mr Berezovsky had been forced to try to sell a painting by Andy Warhol of the former Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin.
Media magnate The role of political plotter, and financier of Russian opposition parties, was the latest in a series of reincarnations that Mr Berezovsky went through in his 67 years.
His first career was as a mathematician, his second as a car salesman, his third as a political kingmaker, nicknamed Rasputin, under Russia's first president Boris Yeltsin.
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Boris BerezovskyI understood [then] that this way of open opposition doesn't work, at least for me - and that's the reason why I decided to choose the other way”
Mr Berezovsky made his fortune
importing Mercedes cars into Russia in the 1990s, and setting himself up
as a middleman distributing cars made by Russia's Avtovaz.
While Avtovaz struggled to survive, Mr Berezovsky nevertheless made millions.By the mid-1990s, he was one of Russia's leading oligarchs, a word used for those who made their fortunes during the wholesale privatisation of state assets.
As well as taking ownership of the Sibneft oil company, he became the main shareholder in the country's main television channel, ORT, which he turned into a propaganda vehicle for Boris Yeltsin in the run-up to the 1996 presidential election.
He has survived numerous assassination attempts, including a bomb that decapitated his chauffeur.
He took Forbes magazine to court for describing him as the "godfather of the Kremlin" and linking him to the murder of a popular television journalist.
Forbes settled out of court, accepting that the allegations were false.
Mr Berezovsky was at the height of his power in the later Yeltsin years, when he was deputy secretary of Russia's security council, a friend of Boris Yeltsin's daughter Tatyana, and a member of the Yeltsin inner circle, or "family".
Although he helped Mr Putin enter the family, and funded the party that formed Mr Putin's parliamentary base, the new president moved to regain control of the ORT television station, and to curb the political ambitions of Russia's oligarchs.
Open opposition Mr Berezovsky left Russia for self-imposed exile in the UK at the end of 2000.
Alexander Litvinenko was a close associate of Mr Berezovsky
"I understood [then] that this way of open opposition doesn't work, at least for me. And that's the reason why I decided to choose the other way," he later said.
Without naming Mr Berezovsky, the Kremlin accused its foreign-based opponents of organising the 2006 assassinations of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko and the campaigning journalist Anna Politkovskaya, in order to discredit Mr Putin.
Mr Berezovsky denied the allegation, and accused Mr Putin of himself being behind Litvinenko's death.
Mr Berezovsky bought the ex-spy - himself in exile in London - a house in Muswell Hill and helped him to publicise claims that Mr Putin organised the bombings of apartment blocks in Russia, in 1999, which paved the way for Russia's second military intervention in Chechnya.
He said Mr Putin was prepared to kill anyone that he defined as an enemy of Russia, and that he himself was a target.
That is why the mansion he bought for £10m from former disc jockey Chris Evans was equipped with bullet-proof windows, laser monitors, spy cameras and reinforced steel doors.
Boris Berezovsky death: Chemical hazard police give house all-clear
Mr Berezovsky told a journalist from Forbes magazine that his life had lost its meaning
The
home of the late exiled Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky has been given
the all-clear after it was searched by police for chemical, biological
and nuclear material.
A cordon around his Berkshire house has now mostly been lifted.Mr Berezovsky, 67, was found dead on Saturday and police are currently treating his death as unexplained.
He emigrated to the UK in 2000 after falling out with Russia's president, and was granted asylum in 2003.
'Nothing of concern' Mr Berezovsky's body was reportedly found in a bath at the house in Ascot on Saturday afternoon. An ambulance was called to his house at 15:18 GMT.
His body remained at the property while the search - described by police as a precaution - was carried out.
Supt Simon Bowden, of Thames Valley Police, thanked residents for their patience and apologised for the inconvenience.
"However, we needed to ensure that all precautions were taken prior to entering the property.
Steve Rosenberg: "The Russian media has been describing him as 'the great schemer' and 'an evil genius'"
Boris Berezovsky amassed a fortune in the 1990s after the privatisation of state assets following the collapse of Soviet Communism.
He survived numerous assassination attempts, including a bomb that decapitated his chauffeur.
In 2003 he was granted political asylum in Britain on the grounds that his life would be in danger in Russia.
The tycoon's wealth is thought to have considerably diminished in recent years, leaving him struggling to pay debts in the wake of costly court cases.
Litvinenko's friend In 2011, Mr Berezovsky reportedly lost more than £100m in a divorce settlement. And, last year, he lost a £3bn ($4.7bn) damages claim against Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich.
In an informal interview with journalist Ilya Zhegule on the eve of his death, and published on Forbes' Russian language website, Mr Berezovsky reportedly said his life no longer made sense and spoke of his desire to return to Russia.
"There is nothing that I wish more today than to return to Russia," he is quoted as saying.
"I had underestimated how dear Russia is to me and how little I can stand being an emigre.
"I have changed my opinion on a lot of subjects. I had a very idealistic idea on how to build a democratic Russia. And I had an idealistic idea of what democracy is in the centre of Europe.
"I underestimated the inertia of Russia and greatly overestimated the West."
On Saturday a Kremlin spokesman said that Mr Berezovsky had recently written to Mr Putin, saying he wanted to go home.
Some police cordons have remained in place around Mr Berezovsky's property at Titness Park in Ascot
Without naming Mr Berezovsky, the Kremlin has accused its foreign-based opponents of organising the assassination. It was thought that Russia was, in part referring, to Mr Berezovsky.
He denied the allegation and accused Mr Putin of personally being behind Mr Litvinenko's death. A former Russian intelligence officer, Andrei Lugovoi, has refused to attend the Litvinenko inquest, saying he will not receive "justice" in Britain.
Russian media have described Mr Berezovsky's death as "the end of an era".
On its website, the pro-Kremlin paper Komsomolskaya Pravda describes Mr Berezovsky as having been "clever, cunning, resourceful... a master of chaos".
Meanwhile, Novaya Gazeta - which is normally critical of the Kremlin - described him as someone who "viewed Russia as a chess board", albeit one on which "only he would be allowed to move the pieces".
Wikipedia
林仙保（1935年10月18日－2013年3月23日），中華民國(臺灣)政治人物，出生於高雄州岡山郡湖內庄茄萣(今高雄茄萣)人，中國國民黨籍，臺南一中畢業，高雄縣(2010年12月25日與高雄市合併為高雄市)紅派大老，曾任茄萣農會總幹事、高雄縣議員，後連任四屆臺灣省議員，現已退休，政治版圖交棒予其庶子林益世。2013年3月23日，林仙保驚傳病危，經家人緊急送至高雄市苓雅區國軍高雄總醫院。醫院證實林仙保到院時已無生命跡象，享年78歲。逝世前，長期居住於高雄縣鳳山市(今 高雄市鳳山區)。
目錄 |
爭議事件
林仙保退休後，於2010年6月初出國旅遊，月中從中華人民共和國香港特別行政區赤鱲角香港國際機場返抵高雄市小港區高雄國際機場，由於同機旅客攜帶超量洋菸企圖闖關不成，林仙保遂表明前省議員身分，試圖關說，但海關關員不理會，仍依法對超量部分課予進口稅。據傳林益世知悉後，竟致電「關切」，要求高雄海關課長林文忠到林仙保住處致歉，林文忠並因此事將被撤換，海關日前還開檢討會，要求撤換當日對林仙保沒有「禮遇」的關員。林仙保本人雖向媒體坦承此事，唯其子林益世卻否認是項說法。[2]林仙保兒子-林益世歷任國民黨副主席、青年團總長、立法委員、行政院秘書長，因向廠商(高雄市政府衛生局)索賄，2012年(中華民國101年)7月2日遭最高法院檢察署特偵組向臺北地方法院聲請羈押禁見獲准，移送土城看守所。林益世已向檢察官認罪，國民黨亦在林遭羈押的當日，迅速開除其黨籍。[3]
林益世爆發貪瀆案後，其母沈若蘭旋即遭到特偵組約談。檢方搜索林府時，林仙保未置一詞，目前也無證據證明林仙保涉案。至於沈若蘭是否協助林益世處理賄款，則待檢方進一步調查釐清。[4]
由於政黨政治生態發展成熟，早年依靠地方派系動員的情況已逐漸式微，所以一般認為林仙保的紅派共主地位，即使有林益世子傳衣缽，也不再能發揮其政壇影響。而林益世貪瀆事件對其家族勢力，更是一次致命打擊。[5][6]
2012年7月6日，由於林益世貪瀆案一家多人涉案，外界開始懷疑林仙保可能參與其中，並從林益世貪瀆案錄音中，提出林仙保可能在場，甚至參與交涉的推測。目前全案仍由特偵組偵辦中，特偵組曾試圖約談林仙保，欲釐清前次前往中華人民共和國澳門特別行政區旅遊的時間點是否和外幣賄款洗錢有關(據悉，即指超量洋菸關說事件當次)；唯林仙保請假未往。其是否涉案，仍待檢察官蒐証調查。[7][8]
特偵組稱傳喚林仙保時，發現他「重聽」而無罪。[9]
家庭
林仙保與正室吳春金育有三子一女，[10]其中長子為林靈谷、女兒為林珂萍。2006年3月，林靈谷利用異母弟林益世名號，聲稱有辦法取得公共工程的外勞配額，使得許智堯投資八百萬元。但林靈谷卻將工程轉賣他人，將公款匯入親友帳戶，涉嫌掏空公司。林益世對此事曾表示與異母兄長林靈谷已經逾十年沒見過面，不知道名號遭其冒用。[11]林仙保二房為沈若蘭，兩人育有一子一女，兒子為林益世、女兒為林憶珊。當林仙保決定淡出政壇，交棒之際，嫡長子林靈谷與庶子林益世之間曾有嫡庶的接棒之爭，最後，林益世挾牙醫系畢業光環、臺灣社會對牙醫形象認同，取代學歷略遜一籌的嫡長子，接下棒子，也開啟順遂的政治路。但沈本人行事作風，也曾帶給林家社會觀感上的負面影響，如光黎工程公司特權超貸案。在其子林益世因貪瀆被羈押後，沈主動到案，經過約談，特偵組以涉嫌藏匿貪汙所得、洗錢及隱匿刑事證據等三項罪名，將其改列被告，沈若蘭母子遂成為林益世貪瀆案爆發後，最早被列為犯罪嫌疑人的林家人。而隨後林仙保媳，林益世妻彭愛佳，接著亦被以涉嫌貪污治罪條例「藏匿貪污罪所得財物」、洗錢防製法「寄藏他人重大犯罪所得財物」及刑法「隱匿刑事證據」3項罪名由證人改列被告，林氏二房至今計有三人淪為被告。[12][13][14]
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