Boris Romanovich Rotenberg the Soviet Union. In 1992, he became a professional judo trainer in Helsinki. In 1998, he returned to St. Petersburg. In 2001, he and his brother founded the SMP bank, which operates in 40 Russian cities with over 100 branches, more than half of them in the Moscow area. SMP oversees the operation of more than 900 ATM-machines. Based on his friendship with Vladimir Putin, his company became closely aligned with Gazprom. Mr. Rotenberg is a member of the St. Petersburg Connection, a powerful energy lobby under the leadership of Mr. Putin. He was involved in 20 construction projects for
Arkady Pogodin Arkady Pogodin Arkady Pogodin (, born Arkady Piliver; 1901, Odessa, Russian Empire — 1975, Moscow, USSR) was a Soviet singer who worked in variety theater and operetta. At 16 years of age, Pogodin started appearing on theater stage in small roles. In 1922 he moved to Moscow, where he started working in small variety theaters performing funny songs. In 1924 he was already appearing on the stage of the prestigious Hermitage Theater. In 1938 Pogodin was invited to sing the lead role of Albert in an operetta titled "Delicate Diplomacy" ("Тонкая дипломатия" by Johann Strauss) at the Moscow Theater of