Alexander Lebedev: the oligarch who bought the Evening Standard

Britain's newest press baron is an ex-KGB lieutenant colonel, said to be worth over £3bn. But Alexander Lebedev isn't your typical Russian oligarch.

Towards the end of the Cold War, Alexander Lebedev was a KGB spy in London reporting back to Moscow on whether Britain was about to activate a nuclear strike. He's now pulled off a strike of his own. Having apparently fallen in love with the British way of life he has just taken control of the London Evening Standard, and its debts, for a "nominal sum". It's an "astonishing moment in British press history", says The Guardian. "Welcome Comrade Proprietor." There was some opposition to the move: one MP has called for a government investigation. But, as the political blogger Guido Fawkes points out, Lebedev is hardly the first foreign spy to own a UK title: Robert Maxwell was also reckoned by British intelligence to have worked for the Russians. Besides, Lebedev isn't your typical Moscow strong-man.

Dubbed "the thinking man's oligarch", Lebedev describes Russia's oligarch class as greedy and uncultured. "They don't read books. They don't go to exhibitions. They think the only way to impress anyone is to buy a yacht." By contrast, he stages Chekhov festivals and styles himself a "Capitalist-Idealist". According to Novaya Gazeta (the campaigning Moscow paper he co-owns with Mikhail Gorbachev), he is the genuine article: "a tycoon-intellectual with a social conscience". The paper is one of the few Russian media outlets critical of the Kremlin. In short, says The Observer, "he is an oligarch we could learn to love".

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up
MoneyWeek

MoneyWeek is written by a team of experienced and award-winning journalists, plus expert columnists. As well as daily digital news and features, MoneyWeek also publishes a weekly magazine, covering investing and personal finance. From share tips, pensions, gold to practical investment tips - we provide a round-up to help you make money and keep it.