internationally in the very heart of moscow. they called him the face of business and government. he was in gambler. heading the russian mafia inside the kremlin it was enough just raises eyebrows to make gangsters appear. he was the great cardinal of russian politics he was a big time political adventurer some even called him a lot of a rest putin the embodiment of evil in boris yeltsin's presidential court am i supposed to put on a grieving face and talk about people across the country mourning his demise on the contrary the moderates that his death has attracted so much attention. figure in russian business exemplified nine hundred ninety s. russia he made millions while his country starved he was the subject of several books and the basis for many crime movie villains and i picked. people i knew

personally. influenced by. them. to create entirely new persona always come up with a car. in mind one and. it was part of that. created but he said. probably borrowed some of his biographical details and. personality traits he wanted to be a living legend in his lifetime in that he succeeded his death is as big a mystery as his rapid rise to the peak of russian business and government. the english town of ascot forty. kilometers from london has

a population of about eighteen fells and is famous horse races frequented by the country's elite now it has a new claim to fame. spent his final years before a mysterious death. for me what you deserved he says. from the other world. he had died in poverty at the age of eighty seated in a rocking chair. the british social system. had to wipe his dripping nose. his legs from swelling i just can't imagine that. before that and that's what he did what he did. using a silk scarf. the well known russian lawyer of french

descent alexander. has long been defending the interests of russian oligarchs there was a time when he was on good terms with better. to turn business into power the wealthy entrepreneur asked to be his lawyer but the invitation was declined. i don't like crazy people he was obsessed with the idea. how the tale would work out in the end. you always have to work with crazy people with so much but when one of them is obsessed with politics it's hard to work with them. politics and we are completely different things. he was equally insistent in calling on you to join the opposition but failed to gain the sinister rest of the ninety's was now the target of derision and jokes nobody took him seriously anymore alexander that doesn't

believe better he was murdered by special services what would have been the point of killing him he had long since ceased to be a threat. still but it's an incredible number of people might say that security agents. britons the americans or irishman got into the bathroom through the lavatory by dissolving into a molecular state. to realizing is james bond. with a scar but not before saying to him. we're going to strangle you after that they get reduced to i went down the level tory with the sewerage later to emerge in the kremlin. shortly before his death row to penitential put in criminal cases against him to be dropped and to be allowed to return. former head of security believes that better promise to hand over a secret files on certain officials and businessmen in return for

a pardon or. understood only to well let's just say. i won't do it again wouldn't be enough i'm almost certain that he would only expect a pardon issue in exchange for something otherwise he wouldn't have written a letter. of the in. if you're a threat to several russian. overseas but if. knows first hand of the jury in the nine hundred ninety s. . compromising material on some of russia's top businessmen and officials he has no doubt that better plans to use it against one of the country's oligarchs. they're trying to find that archive i think that's why they did. what he called the president he said. pardon me if i come back and i can incriminate

a few people to your liking any part of the some interesting pieces of information simply writing a letter or talking in an interview with forbes would have been a foolish thing to do and i don't think he was a fool or a madman. before he died better he had lost the cold case of the century one russian oligarch. demanded that another. pay him five billion pounds owed from a deal with the oil company. it was unable to produce any evidence that had pocketed money that didn't belong to him in those times deals with sealed with handshakes rather than signature. business would russia fortunes were being made in months or even weeks but. outstripped everybody. lifestyle was a bit like a nuclear reactor in fact he was a nuclear reactor constantly generating and spewing out excess energy and of course

no one despite how healthy a person is like that for a long time and then comes the apathy. he was the orchestra conductor and the center of the universe he wanted to be the focus of everybody's attention he wanted to be talked and written about well even if it was derogatory he said there is no black or white p.r. there is only. to a ph d. in mathematics. at the academy of sciences. finally opened up forty years of age. threw himself into business. and became a key business figure in the country. t.v. interview for ukrainian.

politics i was ready to spend any amount of money to achieve political. spending fifteen. that was the most effective business project in my life. to build it. he claimed the project. would get their revenge. one hundred forty million roubles. all of his money sticking to the one rule that he set for himself and. that made it possible for him to plough. make money from off and. he liked under the of his friendship with the family.

company already controlled. industry but still he wanted more. with the highest authorities could bring in the really big money. even members of his family. well he shall add them with lavish gifts as will he found a weak link to some of the people at the president's younger daughter tatiana. she had been married several times she wasn't counted by you so was yeltsin's wife naive you heard many good things about the entrepreneur from her daughter both were frequent guests a lot of was a french chef served sumptuous food in the relationship simplified gifts and money with money and gifts nothing else but turning point came on june the seventh nine

hundred ninety four when better limousine was blown up the driver died instantly decapitated by the blast the targets bodyguards and several innocent bystanders sustained serious injuries miraculously self escaped unharmed. i thought to be burned alive if i stayed in the car with but if i got out they shoot me my driver died but in fact he saved my life because as usual he had forgotten to lock the door i just opened it and got out it was an incredible sensation it's not even like being reborn it's a sense of purity of what's happened before is of no importance all your problems are unimportant you have an airy feeling overwhelming. unusually took the back seat with a blast caused little how many would later speculate that the only god must

a mind to the attempt on his own life to join russia's ruling elite. a sense to the apex of power began. the world's leading. science technology innovation all the list of elements from around russia we've got this huge earth covered. me eat eat eat eat eat eat eat eat eat eat eat eat food. to eat.

potentially deadly blizzard taking aim for the northeast it's expected to hit starting in a few hours from new york to maine we have team coverage of the storm. but what we're watching is the very heavy snow moving into boston proper earlier today it was very sticky you can see it start to become much more patrie down to the bottom line there is still a lot of snow out here a good place for snowball fight the. case and it is going to pretty incredible day

there and even record snowfall throughout what's been like nobody's long three drug losses some emergency vehicles lurk substance. international airport in the very heart of moscow. the murder attempt provided better with a ticket to the presidential club a small circle of the highest officials associated to yeltsin and his family they

met only a few times and better his role was that of mata suffering for the ideals of entrepreneurship he was a laughing stock after the car bomb that was the first time he appeared among the elite in the early ninety's who even nicknamed term smokey they were all glamorous people and suddenly they saw the man with burnt hairs on his bald head and a bandage face this way he takes advantage of the opportunity to attract attention be heard and take another step forward in his career at first but he's also he had no real power he says himself a different task he simply wanted to be seen among the presidents in a circle as often as he could to impress on ole that he was welcome at the highest levels. he was very funny i think it was very important for him to establish himself in the kremlin and make it clear to everybody that he is all ski was there he was fond of making phone calls from the

kremlin he would say that he was calling from the waiting room of this official or that official he felt it was very important for him to see the official in question after sitting in the way. for a long time but getting no concrete decision from him. the inner circle created his image there would say. just. the gunman in the game all going to show up instantly look at him. they'd exclaim but actually he was a completely different person around the same time. with another eccentric multimillionaire . with. a handsome face and a liking for flashy ties. business friendship and. promotion. i remember in my waiting room for hours on end. holding his

hands like this when he brought bad dream to me for the first time he made a better impression. and crime it was bad or who did the dirty work that the jewel was responsible for. just as suddenly as. a heart attack his funeral would be attended by almost half of tbilisi's population. and even if. he would not pay his last respects to his friend he could be arrested. death was a terrible blow to. the ninety's they had together moved from being ordinary business to becoming rulers of destiny. as a complete surprise to everyone. i

said i couldn't believe it. off to the funeral of. he would not be able to get them back off to bed because their. financial support. was left with no money because. nobody knew exactly where. because he lost a good deal of money he could no longer afford to fund. politics with his. political weight by controlling several russian t.v. broadcasters and the country's most successful publishing house.

wasn't a human rights campaign or. committee activist. for political competition. but he knew how far he could push journalists. between truth and truth. the difference between half truths. with two high profile one was a t.v. adored by the public to reshape the t.v. advertising market. chief editor of forbes in russia he had written about financial dealings but there was no proof that he was involved. because he feared prosecution not political persecution. should be

kept at a distance from the authorities disable the mechanism that he made it possible for himself to make money by maintaining close links with the government. played a key. election in. six by using his media assets after that he became a leading figure in the president's. picks and really my thoughts. i think politics all the time that's what i like why do you. have you the right to do that that's what i often hear the simple answer you can't imagine how much i love it. considerable power and boris yeltsin needed both financial and media support for the election confronted with a conflict between business and special services. he had to fire his own chief bodyguard who had openly been involved in

a disagreement with other oligarchs. twenty nine hundred ninety six i left the kremlin and i took no part in further events. should think about repenting their own sins i've never been like that i didn't raise him so high. i once said i'd live long enough to see the end of him and a few others so far he's the only one who's gone. after the success of yeltsin's presidential campaign there was also he was given control of the significance for practically nothing he was also made a high ranking government official deputy secretary of the security council to settle a conflict in chechnya. it was my days are very interesting case when i get down to stealing an oil pipeline or

a pump oil out of it certainly not i thought. all important for business politics and for russian general. the last thing is you have to turn. back home by taking advantage of his longstanding contacts and. t.v. channels that he controlled repeatedly pictures of men rescued from church and captivity. the airliner touches down and stops some distant short of the airport building comes to the airport it gets into the plane. it approaches a group of journalists on the apron. to liberate or appears on the stairs it was a constant feature on the war teach channel. that he grabbed all the glory. at that time white people were still unaware of the fact that the time would come when they pay a heavy price for that glory. nearly all analysts for. politics was an

extension of his business so he only tackled the problems in chechnya so he'd be able to win contracts for its restoration. they said that his office he expected to get gazprom and the rest of the russian federation as well as c. but you have to that was a conspiracy theory. ready had enough and simply needed to protect what i have. the means of creating a stable political system. so that food. after winning the election there were only two official meetings between them only one appearance with yeltsin was broadcast on t.v. that was when he was being appointed to the post of executive secretary or something for russia's security council. influence on the media

if he'd had a hundred meetings with i'm certain. unable to influence. the confidence of the president's elder daughter. she was the president's most trusted confidant it became clear towards the would have to leave early for health reasons . that he had made the choice and was sure the new president would appreciate his efforts. brought him down he had to go because his time. and. trouble. and.

the country against my will i can't. do or i'm going to kick the bucket because i already think. it was. the prosecutor. trying to create a political party to influence the course. of the presidential election in two thousand and four. former security council head mysteriously disappeared before the vote. some claim he arranged. to disrupt the ballot. the possibility. that i don't think i'm in a position to say in front of cold feet that he betrayed me or anything.

russian intelligence officer. accused. but he is convinced that it was in fact. obviously lying we have all the records of little interrogations they contain no mention of anything like that that means this was another. security for the. control. exposing his former chief. pay sixty million rubles to anyone who would give putin away because he allegedly came to power illegitimately and that was complete nonsense it makes absolutely no sense.

oppositionist became the butt of many jokes. of power in russia even prompted the british authorities to issue a warning that his political asylum status could be reviewed. six or seven years ago. he said still the country's principle. still being demonized. and this is what i said to him. you want to hear me say yes i'm guilty. and he walked off to buy some garish pictures. losing everything divorcing his second. two hundred million pounds. even more money. remains with the. market value he also had to cut down service and security. people who in the months before his

death he was taking antidepressants. did smoke before but not much then at one point he started smoking two packs a day and drinking heavily his personality began to split he would say one thing in the morning but it would be something different at lunch time or in the evening several times in november he said that he'd lost the meaning of life and realized that he made many mistakes. business was synonymous money opened the door and even to the president. would no longer work and at the end of his life there was no way back for him.

here is mitt romney trying to figure out the name of that thing that we americans call a dollar. i'm sorry i'm just a guy who cares an awful lot but. are you know what that is. but no one's listening to feature a sunday on liberal democrats to. confuse at least some of the. news for you to distract us from what you and i should care about because they're profit driven industry that sells a sensationalistic garbage he calls it breaking news i'm not a martin and we're going to break this that.

the so. french troops are leaving.