Zakhar Smushkin

In the early 1990s Zakhar Smuskhin and his business partner Boris Zingarevich were active in barter trading with Russian pulp and paper mills.Later in the 1990s, during the privatization phase in Russia, they bought their first plant, the Kotlas pulp and paper mill.The partners' Ilim Group formed a joint venture in 2007 with multinational firm International Paper; the venture operates in Russia as Ilim Group.As part of the deal, International Paper purchased 50% of Ilim for approximately $650 million.Smushkin also owns about 9,900 acres of land near Saint Petersburg.