Russian Press Center: Exiled Oligarchs Aim to Start the New Cold War Between Europe and Russia.

NEW YORK -- Russian Press Center hosted a roundtable discussion on issues surrounding the "Battle for Moscow 2008" report, which talks about Russian oligarchs' supposed attempt to gain power in Russia after President Putin steps down in 2008. The roundtable addressed the exiled Russian oligarchs' recent efforts to induce a diplomatic crisis between Russia and the UK. The list of participants included Vladimir Pavlov, Russian Press Center's director, Julian Lowenfield, one of the leading US attorneys specializing in Russian-American relations, Bill Milberg, an economist whose specializing in the field of countries' reputations, Michael Thompson, a political scientist, media representatives among others.

The report by Russian Press Center, published earlier this year and presented at the UN in May, states that Russian exiled oligarchs, including Boris Berezovsky, Mikhail Chernoy, Leonid Nevzlin and others, are staging a comeback in 2008 to get back their "fair share" of the nation's wealth and control over politics. The report, based on analysis of open sources such as Western and Russian media, on and off the record statements by experts, businessmen, law enforcement officials and politicians, demonstrates that the exiled oligarchs, who were de-facto rulers of Russia in the 90s, are preparing a revanche, aggressively trying to revamp their image tarnished by plundering the Russian economy and ties with organized crime, and in some cases -- regain physical access to countries like the US, which denied them visas, vying for support of political forces in the West, soliciting former and active law enforcement and intelligence officials in Great Britain, the U.S., Israel, Italy and Eastern European countries with a dual task of using their expertise and connections to soften official scrutiny of their shadowy business practices and getting help in undermining the current government of Russia.

Vladimir Pavlov, Russian Press Center's director, said at the roundtable, that the recent diplomatic crisis might be a result of the lobbying by the exiled oligarchs: "No doubt that Mr. Berezovsky, the archenemy of the Kremlin, is actively involved in the dispute between Russia and the UK. He himself was the reason for it, as the UK did not agree to extradite him to Russia, where criminal charges are filed against him. The less support current Russian government has from Europe, the easier it is to take over Russia after the presidential elections in 2008" - says Pavlov. Russian Press Center's research showed that Berezovsky is not acting alone: one of his close business partners is Mikhail Chernoy, who gained almost full control over Russia's aluminum industry in the 90s in what became known as the bloody "aluminum wars." Mikhail Chernoy, now living in Israel after the US stripped him of his visa in 1999, appears to be the hub in a tangled web of connections linking the Russian mafia, corrupt politicians and Russian opposition.

Chernoy's activity has recently most noticeably spread to Ukraine, where he controls several companies, the largest being First Ukrainian Development (FUD), which will soon break ground on a $1 billion building project in Kiev. Ukrainian journalists refer to their country's construction business today as "the flush pipe of criminal capital," and indeed, FUD's main office is registered at an offshore location in Cyprus, while its Kiev office is headed by Efim Borodulin, a man with close ties to Berezovsky. Chernoy himself flew to Ukraine three times this year on Berezovsky's personal airplane.

The Russian Press Center's report states that the web of exiled Russian oligarchs is setting up their operations in such a way that it would be easy for them to take part in Russian political and business activity and wait for the right time to enter the "Battle for Moscow" in 2008.

Russian Press Center and participants of the roundtable welcome feedback regarding any of the topics addressed at the roundtable. Record of the discussion and the "Battle for Moscow 2008" report are available on Russian Press Center's website - www.russianpresscenter.com.