New Russian. How Eduard Shifrin, having earned $1 billion in Ukrainian steel industry, got involved in development in Russia.

The former co-owner of Ukrainian metallurgical plants, Eduard Shifrin, became a Russian citizen on October 27, 2016, by decree of President Vladimir Putin. A native of Dnipro, resident of London, and former participant in Forbes global list ($1.3 billion, No. 773 in 2010), Shifrin received his Russian passport in November at the Odintsovo branch of the migration service near Moscow. "There were no celebrations or champagne," Shifrin told Forbes. He had been waiting for consideration of his citizenship application for about a year. According to him, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia (FJCR) supported his request, as he generously funds Sunday schools and synagogues and has built the largest religious and cultural center in Zhukovka on the Rublevo-Uspenskoe highway in Russia. Alexander Boroda, the president of FJCR, refrained from commenting. A long-time friend of Shifrin, engaged in metallurgical business in Russia, believes that the new Russian citizen simply wanted to save on taxes, as the personal income tax rate for all citizens remains at 13%.