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Billionaire Abramovich back in Siberian politics

By JTA Staff · October 15, 2008

Billionaire Jewish philanthropist Roman Abramovich stepped down from politics in July, but his respite has been short-lived.

Abramovich was elected to head the regional legislature in the remote Siberian region of Chukotka with 97 percent of the vote this week, while two of his former deputies also gained seats in the 12-member legislature.

Abramovich resigned as governor of the region, which sits across the Bering Strait from Alaska. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev accepted his resignation in July after his predecessor, now-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, refused to do so at the beginning of 2008.

Abramovich is closely allied with the Kremlin and has thrown his largesse behind several projects for the Chabad-run Federation of Jewish Communities.

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