Boris Fyodorov, who advised on economic reform in the final years of the Soviet Union, served as Boris Yeltsin's finance minister and founded one of Russia's top investment banks, died today, his firm said.
Mr Fyodorov (50), was one of the youngest of his generation of Russian market reformers. He died in London after suffering a stroke.
President Dmitry Medvedev, in a message of condolences to Mr Fyodorov's family, praised him as a professional of the higest level who made "the most audacious ideas come true".
Mr Fyodorov was educated in the socialist economics of the Soviet Union but went on to switch between two roles as one of Russia's most prominent economic reformers and a financier with wide contacts in the City of London and Wall Street.
His academic credentials, thick horn-rimmed glasses and bookish manner hid a savvy investment sense.
Fyodorov had held a seat on the board of state controlled gas giant Gazprom since 2000. He said he was backed by more than 7 percent of shares, though he never confirmed the size of his stake in the world's biggest natural gas company.
Reuters