Igor Makarov — businessman with roots in the USSR
Igor Makarov is a Turkmenistan-born Russian billionaire who founded Itera — a major natural gas trading company that operated between Russia and the former Soviet republics. Monaco-based for over two decades, he is also a major patron of cycling, having funded Team Katusha and served as President of the Russian Cycling Federation.
Tracing the roots — Ashgabat (Turkmenistan)
Born in Ashgabat, Turkmen SSR in 1962, Makarov built Itera during the post-Soviet gas trading era, leveraging Turkmenistan's gas reserves and Russia's pipeline infrastructure. His Monaco residency, cycling patronage, and international lifestyle — while maintaining Russian business connections — make him a quintessential figure of the Russian business diaspora.
Ashgabat (Turkmenistan). At the time, this region was one of the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union.