Grigory Beryozkin

Early business career

While still working on his PhD thesis, Berezkin began exploring business opportunities. In 1989, he co-founded a cooperative that developed IT systems for oil refineries in the Urals and Siberia.

In the early 1990s, using profits from this business, he invested in cable production for the oil industry. He imported equipment from Sweden and organized the production of cables for oil pumps. At the time, such cable was in short supply in Russia.

In May 1992, Berezkin co-founded Slavyanka, a company established on the basis of Store No. 2 of the Oktyabrsky District Food Retail Association.

In 1993, after he began trading oil, he met Roman Abramovich, who was engaged in the supply of oil products from the Komi Republic. In 1994, Berezkin became deputy general director of Komineft and head of its Moscow representative office. At the same time, he managed the Mesko company, a joint venture of Komineft and RAO International Economic Cooperation, which was also one of the key shareholders of Komineft. In the same year, the KomiTEK holding was created on the basis of Komineft, the Ukhta Oil Refinery and Kominefteprodukt.

In 1994 he became deputy general director of Komineft and simultaneously its general representative in Moscow. In the same year, the KomiTEK holding was created on the basis of Komineft, the Ukhta Oil Refinery and Kominefteprodukt.

In 1995, Berezkin negotiated a pre-export financing agreement with a consortium of European banks, including United Overseas Bank (later UBS), providing KomiTEK with funding secured against future oil deliveries. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the World Bank also invested more than $120 million in the company’s environmental initiatives. Total and Elf (later TotalEnergies) were involved in exploration and production projects with Komineft, while joint ventures were formed with Neste and Marc Rich & Co. (later Glencore). During the same period, KomiTEK’s shareholders included Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) and Brunswick Securities.

In 1995, Berezkin collected the required number of voter signatures and ran as an independent candidate for the State Duma in a single-member constituency. He was among 2,628 candidates who contested single-member seats in the election, but was not elected The election was monitored by 993 international observers from 61 countries. Members of the observation mission assessed the election as free and fair.

In 1997, he became Chairman of the Board of Directors of KomiTEK.

In 1997-1999, he worked as Chairman of the Board of Directors of ZAO AKB Ukhtabank.

In 1999, he organized the sale of the KomiTEK holding to Lukoil for over $600 million.

By the early 2000s, Berezkin had accumulated significant capital and withdrew from the oil business.

Berezkin has been involved in skiing since childhood and competed at university level. He has also taken part in international competitions, including the European Championships. He has supported athletes competing at the Winter Olympic Games.

He later became involved in water sports and founded the Alpha Water Ski Club in Moscow. Since 1998, he has participated in rally racing, competing in World and European Championship events, as well as in Russia’s national competitions.

Berezkin is married and has four children: three daughters and a son.

Reach for Change

By the early 2010s, Berezkin decided to make social impact his primary focus. In 2012, Berezkin’s daughter founded the Russian branch of Reach for Change, an international foundation established by Sweden’s Kinnevik group. The organization supports social entrepreneurs working on projects for children and young people by providing funding, mentoring and business support. Berezkin joined its board. On the initiative of Berezkin, an endowment fund was established. The endowment is intended to provide the foundation with long-term financial stability to support its programmes.

In 2019, the foundation became a member of the European Venture Philanthropy Association, and in 2020 it partnered with Collaborate for Impact to develop social investment initiatives in Eastern Europe.

Other philanthropic activities

Berezkin has supported a number of charitable organisations, including the Center for Curative Pedagogics, which works with children with developmental disabilities, and the Speransky Hospital Fund, supporting a major burn treatment centre for children. Since 2012, he has also supported Joy of Old Age, focused on elderly care, and has backed Heal Together, which assists children with blood diseases. He has further supported organisations such as Science for Children, Everyone is Special and Open Heart, which provide assistance to children and people with disabilities.

Berezkin has supported the International Chemistry Olympiad and has funded research in molecular biology and bioorganic chemistry at his alma mater, Moscow State University. In 2022, he established the Viktor Berezkin Prize in memory of his father, awarded to graduate students and early-career researchers in chromatography, with separate categories for PhD and non-PhD scientists.

He organised an exhibition of works by Titian in Moscow, which brought paintings from Italian museums. The project was carried out in cooperation with Russian and Italian cultural institutions.

Berezkin has also supported international philanthropic initiatives in the fields of sport, healthcare and culture, including youth alpine and water skiing programmes in France, medical research at the Gustave Roussy cancer institute, healthcare projects implemented by the Sumba Foundation in Indonesia, and the Albertina Museum in Vienna.