Disaster at Sheremetyevo-1
Bazhaev was expected in Kazakhstan, Borovik was flying to Kyiv
Ziya Bazhaev, as part of the Ukrainian government delegation, was supposed to hold negotiations in Astana today with the leaders of the oil and gas complex of Kazakhstan. He flew to Kyiv to meet with Prime Minister of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko and discuss the details of the upcoming negotiations. Together with the head of the Alliance group, Artem Borovik, the head of the Top Secret holding, also flew to Ukraine. According to some reports, Borovik hoped, with the support of Bazhaev, who had influence in Ukraine, to expand his publishing business to the territory of this country.

One of the main projects of Alliance Group JSC was work with the Kherson Oil Refinery (KhNPZ). At the end of October last year, Alliance became the management company of this enterprise, the third largest oil refinery in Ukraine. The controlling stake in the KhNPZ was transferred to Alliance by the Kazakhoil company, which supplies oil to the enterprise and received the rights to the KhNPZ as a result of last year’s tender. And Ziya Bazhaev was elected chairman of the supervisory board of the Kherson plant. In recent months, the KhNPZ has been working exclusively on Kazakh oil, with Alliance acting as the supply coordinator. Therefore, Bazhaev was included in the Ukrainian government delegation, which today was supposed to go to the capital of Kazakhstan for negotiations on joint projects in the fuel and energy sector. (The planned trip will take place, but a number of issues related to the Kherson enterprise will not be discussed.)
According to Zia Bazhaev's press secretary Sergei Vakunov, the head of the Alliance group went to Ukraine to meet with Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko and was going to discuss with him the details of the upcoming trip to Astana. It was assumed that last night Bazhaev was supposed to return to Moscow on the same plane and, after picking up several Alliance employees, fly to Kazakhstan.
Artem Borovik, who flew out on the same plane, as Kommersant was told at the Alliance office, was going to Kyiv to discuss the possibilities of developing his business in Ukraine. And since it has long been known that the implementation of media projects there depends on the location of the authorities much more than in Russia, Borovik may have intended to resort to the help of his old friend Ziya Bazhaev, who enjoys authority among the Ukrainian authorities. The Alliance office neither confirmed nor denied this version.

PETER Kommersant-SAPOZHNIKOV

Newspaper "Kommersant" No. 40 dated March 10, 2000, p. 3

Authors:

Petr Sapozhnikov