Nothing is as controversial as “oligarchs.” The opening quote marvels over how Russian oligarchs have transformed the Russian steel industry, but as if to avoid praising them, the word “oligarch” is avoided (Marsh 2006). “Oligarch” is an ancient concept, and an “oligarchy” is defined as “government in the hands of a few” by the Oxford University Press Dictionary. In that sense of the word, the semidemocratic countries in the former Soviet Union may be described as oligarchic.

In Russia and Ukraine, “oligarch” became a popular label for the wealthiest tycoons around 1994, as the first truly rich people emerged. The meaning of oligarch in the two countries is similar. An “oligarch” is a very wealthy and politically well-connected businessperson, a dollar billionaire, or nearly so, who is the main owner of a conglomerate of enterprises and has close ties to the president. Oligarchs or robber barons are few and tremendously wealthy.