On May 6, the death of one of Russia’s most famous entrepreneurs, billionaire and owner of the Siberian Anthracite coal mining company in the Novosibirsk Region, Dmitry Bosov, was announced. The businessman was found with a gunshot wound to the head, and a pistol was lying nearby. Those who knew Dmitry Bosov do not believe something could have broken the entrepreneur who survived the ‘aluminum wars.’ They describe how they remember him:

Dmitry Verkhovod, Director of the National Platform of Industrial Automation:

– This sad news came as a big surprise to me. I can’t say that I knew Dmitry Borisovich well or intimately, but we regularly communicated with him in the late nineties and early 2000s. He was not only an outstanding businessman, but also an interesting person: a graduate of Bauman Moscow State Technical University, a physicist, a well-educated and versatile person who was decent and attentive to other people. He had a broad outlook; it was always interesting to communicate with him.

Dmitry Bosov always had a host of ideas and projects. He could call at any time and start talking about something with great enthusiasm. In principle, his track record reflects this. Dmitry Bosov was not one of those people who privatized something in the nineties and then just skimmed off the cream. He was an entrepreneur of innovative stock. It is very important to note that he parted well with his senior partner, Lev Chernoy (a well-known businessman and former aluminum magnate). Dmitry Bosov was one of the top managers and a junior partner at the Trans World Group (TWG), a powerful industrial group that owned metallurgical plants in the 90s. And when they parted with Lev Semyonovich, it passed without conflict. Dmitry Bosov received his share and continued to build his business. From my point of view, this characterizes him as a very decent person.

Igor Kuznetsov, General Director of Firm Factor Ltd, creator of the Factor Group:

– It is difficult to assess what kind of person he was, let alone how he passed away. But in my understanding, he was a very positive and active person, with a high tolerance for stress. He went through 30 years of business, and a lot happened during this time, including the ‘aluminum wars’… I don’t think any current circumstances could have broken him, but this is my subjective opinion.

Dmitry Bosov was a self-made man. We graduated from the same school in Barnaul. He was younger than me, of course. After that, he graduated from Bauman Moscow State Technical University and created his business virtually from scratch. There were no rich relatives or parent-sponsors. Everything was shaped by him, by his connections, by his approach. We met him thanks to Sibanthracite, I think in 1996. At that time, the company was producing about 400,000 tons of coal. Bosov increased that figure by two orders of magnitude and created an entire empire.

At first, there was almost no concept of export in coal mining, but today coal from the Novosibirsk Region is shipped to a large number of countries. At the same time, he was a socially responsible businessman, which includes job creation. He did a lot for Novosibirsk Region and supported sports teams. The future ice hockey arena now under construction is also his accomplishment. Dmitry Bosov was a big fan of hockey, and he took to the ice himself.

Bosov was able to look far beyond the horizon and took on projects that a lot of people didn’t want to deal with. Starting with the second tunnel for BAM (the second stage of the Severomuysky Tunnel, which Dmitry Bosov offered to build for the Russian authorities under a concession agreement) to increase cargo capacity to the East, and ending with a joint project with Rosneft to build a liquefied natural gas plant in the north of the Nenets Autonomous District. Exploration has been carried out and production planned; the gas field is unique. There was an accident there in the 80s and a gas well flared for about a year and a half. They weren’t able to extinguish the torch and, in the end, put it out with a contained nuclear explosion. It’s clear that all this could not fail to attract the attention of an extraordinary person like Dmitry Bosov. He had a powerful intellect and a broad outlook, and he always wanted to get results. He was able to make friends, from ‘big’ people – members of the government and oligarchs – to ordinary, undistinguished people. For Russian business, Bosov’s departure is a huge loss. He was a creative man.