The Oligarch's Daughter

Although Arkady Galkin in The Oligarch’s Daughter is a fictional character, his story is grounded in the real economic history of the Soviet Union and its transition into becoming the modern, capitalist Russian state. During the Soviet era, private ownership was largely prohibited, and all businesses were owned by the state. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, a chaotic and tumultuous transition period began. During this time, state-owned businesses and assets were sold to private individuals, often at extremely low prices. Many of these assets—especially those in the fields of industry, energy, and finance—were extremely lucrative.

Russia is a resource-rich nation and possesses significant oil and gas reserves as well as a host of other valuable assets. While state-owned businesses were officially sold to the highest bidder, the reality was much more complicated and politically driven. As Galina and Ludmilla describe in the novel, the individuals who won those bids were always well-connected men with deep political connections. This closely reflects historical events.

Seemingly overnight, a new class of ultra-wealthy tycoons emerged in Russia. They were known as “oligarchs”—the term “oligarchy” refers to a system in which a small group of people wield an inordinate amount of power over an organization, institution, or country.