Oleg Shvartsman, a fund manager, claims he is a hero of Russia's new times. Operating out of an office which shares the same Red Square address as the Kremlin's property department, he says he wants to lead a "velvet reprivatisation" drive of assets "illegally" won in Russia's 1990s privatisations: not just the strategic assets that have already become a target for the state but small and medium enterprises in the regions too.

"These enterprises were built by our fathers and our grandfathers, and all of a sudden in one moment these enterprises became owned by individuals by the decision of one official who was paid cash. This is not just. This is not supported by the people," Mr Shvartsman told the Financial Times.