Svyazinvest

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OJSC Svyazinvest was Russia’s largest telecommunications holding company, based in Moscow. It was created by government orders in 1994 to manage the state’s 51% stake in 85 regional telecom companies and to speed up modernization of Russia’s phone networks.

The company consolidated these stakes, and between 2001 and 2003 merged more than 80 regional and local operators into seven mega-regional groups: Southern Telecom, CenterTelecom, Dalsvyaz, North-West Telecom, Sibirtelecom, Uralsvyazinform, and VolgaTelecom. Rostelecom served as the long-distance operator linking these networks.

The venture attracted foreign investment, including a substantial stake sold to Western financiers. Among its investors was George Soros, who later called his investment in Svyazinvest his worst ever.

In the following years, Svyazinvest’s subsidiaries were moved into Rostelecom, and leadership changes occurred amid political connections. On October 1, 2013, Svyazinvest was merged into Rostelecom. After the merger, the government’s stake in the combined Rostelecom stood at about 51%.

Before the merger, Svyazinvest was largely owned by Rosproperty (about three-quarters) and Rostelecom (about one-quarter).