<P> Fridman, Potanin, Aven and Malkin are the only ones on the list to have retained their influence in the Putin era, which began in 1999 . Khodorkovsky, Berezovsky and Gusinsky "have been purged by the Kremlin", according to The Guardian in 2008 . </P> <P> The most famous oligarchs of the Putin era include Roman Abramovich, Alexander Abramov, Oleg Deripaska, Mikhail Prokhorov, Alisher Usmanov, German Khan, Viktor Vekselberg, Leonid Mikhelson, Vagit Alekperov, Mikhail Fridman, Vladimir Potanin, Pyotr Aven, and Vitaly Malkin . </P> <P> Between 2000 and 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 of his time to mediating power - disputes between rival oligarchs . Some had been imprisoned, such as Mikhael Mirilashvili . </P> <P> During Putin's presidency, a number of oligarchs came under fire for various illegal activities, particularly tax evasion in the businesses they acquired . However, it is widely speculated and believed that the charges were also politically motivated per these tycoons falling out of favor with the Kremlin . Vladimir Gusinsky of MediaMost and Boris Berezovsky both avoided legal proceedings by leaving Russia, and the most prominent, Mikhail Khodorkovsky of Yukos oil, was arrested in October 2003 and sentenced to 9 years . This was subsequently extended to 14 years, and after Putin pardoned him, he was released on 20 December 2013 . The term' oligarch' has also been applied to technology investors such as Yuri Milner, although without involvement in Russian politics . </P>

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