Arshba was born in Sukhumi in theAbkhaz ASSR. He is a former entrepreneur, top manager. Dollar multimillionaire. RetiredFSB Colonel, a veteran of the security services.[3]
According to aGordonua.com article, Otari Arshba allegedly recruitedOleg Boyko (Russian:Олег Викторович Бойко) into theKGB and, while Boyko was at the computer center ofMoscow State University from 1982 to 1986, Boyko excelled as an KGB agent and was subsequently sent on business trips to Great Britain and the United States.[4]
In 1989–1991, Arshba stood at the origins ofAbkhazian statehood in modern times, serving as an advisor and organizer of political activities in theSoviet parliament of the USSR people's deputy, the future fighter for the independence of the republic, the first president of AbkhaziaVladislav Ardzinba. In 1992–1993, during theGeorgian-Abkhazian conflict, Arshba was one of the main financial sponsors of strengthening the defense capability of Abkhazia.[5]
Until April 1994, Arshba was a state security officer.[6]
In 1998, Arshba began working atEvraz becoming the director of public relations, and then he successively held the positions of vice president and senior vice president. Until March 2004, he was the chairman of the board of directors of Evraz.[4]
Arshba is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of theWest Siberian Metallurgical Plant (Russian:Западно-Сибирский металлургический комбинат) which merged into Evraz in July 2011 to become OJSC EVRAZ - Consolidated West Siberian Metallurgical Plant (ZSMK) (Russian:ЗСМК).[7][8]
On 3 December 2004, Arshba,Leonid Lebedev, and others founded VAO R. Prim Company (Russian:"Фирмы ВАО Р. Прим") which operated gas stations.[6][9]
Since 7 December 2003, Arshba has been a member ofUnited Russia from the Kemerovo region in theDuma's lower house and, as of July 2023, is the head of the ethics commission in the Duma's lower house.[10][11][12][13]
In March 2023, Ukrainian court sentenced Arshba to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property under the article on encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine.[21][22]
Criminal prosecution
On 22 March 2023, Otari Arshba was sentenced in absentia by a Ukrainian court to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property under the charge of encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine.[23][24]
He is in his first marriage to Marina Abessalomovna Zenaishvili, an ethnic Georgian. She is an ophthalmologist by profession and has also been engaged in entrepreneurial activities.[25][26] The couple has a daughter, Inga (born February 6, 1980), and a son, Irakli (born March 31, 1982), as well as a grandson and a granddaughter named Marina. All members of Arshba’s family, except for himself, identify publicly as ethnic Georgians.
The deputy’s second "son," occasionally mentioned in biographical references, is in fact a relative who, due to life circumstances, was raised in the Arshba household.[27]
Personal
He owns an apartment inGeorgia and his wife has real estate in Georgia, too.[7][28]
^Иванов, Виталий (Ivanov, Vitaly); Воронина, Анфиса (Voronina, Anfisa); Онегина, Анастасия (Onegina, Anastasia) (9 October 2003)."Сырьевая Дума" [Raw Duma].Vedomosti (in Russian). Archived fromthe original on 9 October 2003. Retrieved17 July 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Alt URL
