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
Boris Romanovich Rotenberg do not meet the criteria under which the U.S. Treasury introduces economic sanctions. Rotenberg was named in the Panama Papers. Rotenberg also holds Finnish citizenship. His nephew, Igor Rotenberg () is Russian billionaire businessman. SMP Bank has sponsored auto racing teams under the brand SMP Racing. Russian drivers like Mikhail Aleshin, Sergey Sirotkin and Vitaly Petrov have competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship, FIA Formula 2 Championship, IndyCar Series and European Le Mans Series. Rotenberg also owns BR Engineering, a racecar constructor. The BR01 is an LMP2 car that debuted in 2015. Boris Romanovich Rotenberg Boris Romanovich Rotenberg (,