Chapter 1

Prominent businessman Andrei Mikhailovich Gavrilov was preparing to celebrate his 60th birthday. He had already booked a banquet at Moscow’s most expensive restaurants and sent invitations to guests, among whom were the country’s richest and most influential people. His personal life was also going well. He was the father of four beautiful daughters and the husband of a beloved and loving wife.

But it wasn’t always this way. It all began back in 1992. That year was a very difficult one for Andrei, as it was for most Russians. The Textile and Footwear Research Institute, where Andrei began working in 1990 after completing his postgraduate studies, was eking out a miserable existence. The state completely stopped funding scientific research, and the once-leading institute fell into disrepair. Salaries, as everywhere else back then, were paid irregularly, and hyperinflation had reduced them to mere peanuts.

To make matters worse, Andrei became a father in January 1992, further complicating the family’s financial situation. Andrei’s wife, Larisa, worked as a kindergarten teacher. Her salary was also meager and payments were irregular.