December 31, 1994 – Neva Bank Moscow Branch, Alexei's Office
The year was ending in a blur of numbers and decisions.
Alexei sat alone in his office, the city dark outside his window, the celebrations of New Year's Eve muted by distance and glass. On his desk lay the year-end summary that Lebedev had prepared—a document that captured four years of work in thirty pages of figures.
NEVA GROUP – YEAR-END SUMMARY 1994
Consolidated Assets:
Neva Bank: $28 million in deposits, $14 million in loans
Neva Transport: 127 trucks, 4 repair facilities, 3 warehouses
Neva Security: 87 personnel, training facility, contracts with 12 companies
Murmansk Shipping Company (23% stake): 14 vessels, port facilities
Siberian Railway (18% stake): 1,200 km of track, 3 major junctions
Novorossiysk Port Authority (15% stake): tank farm expansion underway
Neva Tankers: 1 vessel operational, second on order
Surgutneftegaz (5.4% stake): 72,000 vouchers converted to shares
Real estate: 5 buildings in Moscow, 2 in St. Petersburg
Liquid Capital:
Russian accounts: $12 million
Swiss accounts (Meyer & Cie): $15 million
Cyprus holding company: $8 million
Total: $35 million
Annual Revenue (1994):
Banking fees: $4.2 million
Transport contracts: $8.7 million
Shipping operations: $3.1 million
Railway fees: $2.4 million
Port operations: $1.8 million
Real estate income: $0.9 million
Total: $21.1 million
Annual Profit:
$8.3 million (after all expenses, taxes, reinvestment)
Employees:
Neva Group companies: 612
Affiliates (partial ownership): approximately 2,500
Alexei set the report down and walked to the window. Moscow glittered below, a city of lights and shadows, of billionaires and beggars, of the future being born in chaos.
Nineteen years old. Four years since his mother's death. Four years since he had stood in a freezing warehouse with eight broken men and a plan that everyone thought was madness.
Now he controlled assets worth tens of millions. His companies employed over six hundred people. His infrastructure touched half of Russia's economy—oil moving on his railway, through his port, on his tanker. His bank held twenty-eight million in deposits, lent fourteen million to businesses across the country.
And it was just the beginning.
1995 was coming. Loans-for-shares. The creation of the oligarchs. The moment when Russia's wealth would be permanently transferred to those who understood the game.
He would be among them.
A knock at the door. Ivan entered, dressed in civilian clothes for once. "The others are waiting. Celebration at the warehouse. You promised you'd come."
Alexei nodded. He had promised. And after four years, after everything, he owed them that much.
He tucked the photograph back into his pocket, gathered the year-end report, and walked out of the office. Ivan fell into step beside him.
"Nineteen years old," Ivan said quietly. "And you've built all this."
"I've had help."
"More than help. You've had people who believed in you."
Alexei thought about that. The veterans, the drivers, the mechanics, the analysts—all of them had chosen to follow him. Not because of his father's name, not because of his grandfather's network, but because of what he had built.
"Tonight," he said, "we celebrate. Tomorrow, we plan. 1995 is going to be the biggest year yet."
Ivan almost smiled. "It always is."
They walked out into the Moscow night, toward the warehouse where hundreds of people waited to welcome the new year—and the new era.
The young banker was ready.