Russian oligarch 2004, Putin apparently engaged in a power-struggle with some oligarchs, reaching a "grand bargain" with them. This bargain allowed the oligarchs to maintain their powers, in exchange for their explicit support of – and alignment with – Putin's government. Many more business people have become oligarchs during Putin's time in power, and often due to personal relations with Putin, such as the rector of the institute where Putin obtained a degree in 1996, Vladimir Litvinenko, and Putin's childhood friend and judo-teacher Arkady Rotenberg. However, other analysts argue that the oligarchic structure has remained intact under Putin, with Putin devoting much
Arkady Ruderman Arkady Ruderman Arkady Abramovich Ruderman (, ; 7 January 1950 – 22 September 1992) was a Belarusian documentary filmmaker who was killed during the Civil war in Tajikistan in 1992. Arkady Ruderman was born in 1950 in Minsk, capital of the Byelorussian SSR. Ruderman first gained fame in the Soviet Union in 1988 for his reporting on attempts by the communist authorities of BSSR to play down the centennial celebration of the Jewish painter Marc Chagall. Ruderman went on to direct several documentaries about the underside of the Soviet Union. His work won him accolades at the 1988 and 1989