Bidzina Ivanishvili, a man who plays according to Russian rules?

When in October 2011 the Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili announced that he was going into politics, discussions focused on whether he is a “Kremlin project” or not. Even if there were evidence of that, it would not be enough to explain Ivanishvili’s eruption into Georgian politics. This biographical sketch charts the rise of Ivanishvili and explores his previous business career in Russia, his professional relationships and key transactions, and his views on the future of Georgian-Russian relations.