The British establishment is a notoriously tough guard to crack —particularly for the wave of oligarchs who have been making London their home. So how come Evgeny Lebedev makes it look so easy?
The Lebedevs’ foray into media initially raised hackles in London. At the time of the sale, British journalists speculated about whether the Evening Standard would now become a propaganda mouthpiece for the Kremlin: “Welcome, Comrade Proprietor,” wrote one acidic commentator. Russia-watchers began screening the Lebedevs’ London papers for pro-Putin or anti-Putin messages, wondering what game he was playing.
The same year that the Lebedevs bought the Evening Standard from its previous owners, who had been planning to close it, father and son also acquired The Independent and The Independent on Sunday newspapers, then operating at a loss. To save the Evening Standard, Lebedev and his editors took what many thought was a drastic step: they started giving it away for free. The circulation went up — and the advertisers came back. In February, the Evening Standard company, now profitable, was awarded a license to run a London television station, providing another boost of confidence in the company’s future.
