Entrance to the business world
The economic reforms of the 1980s created new business opportunities, which Tariko recognized and took advantage of. Unlike many other Russian businessmen who created their empires through the privatization of state enterprises in the early 1990s, Tariko built his company from scratch.
While studying, Tariko had a part-time job as a street cleaner. According to Tariko, he had to get up early to start his shift and clear the snow, even when the temperatures fell at −20 °C. Already at this point, Tariko had an eye for making money, as his first business venture was a small cleaning company which he had established with two friends.[4]
Expansion
In the late 1980s, Tariko began importing Kinder Surprise and Ferrero Rocher chocolates to the Soviet Union and selling them for rubles. Previously, such goods were only available in hard currency stores closed to average Russians. Tariko parlayed his success in selling Italian chocolates into an exclusive contract to import the Martini brand. Record sales of Martini enabled him to grow his company Roust Inc. into the leading importer of premium spirits in Russia.[3]
Building on his success, Tariko wanted to build a Russian consumer brand which would "embody the vibrant spirit of Russia." Tariko reportedly wondered why Russia, the biggest vodka market in the world did not possess a domestically produced premium vodka brand. In 1998, Tariko, through his Russian Standard Company, brought to market Russian Standard Vodka Original, the first genuinely Russian premium vodka. It became an almost instant success, and quickly established itself as the number one brand of its kind in the country.[5]
In 1999, Tariko expanded his empire into the banking business by founding Russian Standard Bank.[lower-alpha 1] Today[when?], the bank is the market leader in consumer finance and the country's largest consumer lending bank.[citation needed] Due to Tariko being under Ukrainian sanctions, the National Bank of Ukraine revoked the banking license and liquidated Russian Standard Bank's subsidiary in Ukraine "Forward Bank" in March 2023.[8] According to an investigation by the Security Service of Ukraine part of the profits of Forward Bank went to prepare and finance the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as to finance the activities of the Russian Federation, aimed at weakening Ukraine.[8]
In total, the companies belonging to Tariko's holding company Russian Standard Corporation now[when?] employ over 25,000 people.[3]
