Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth
Chapter 774: From Friends to Foes_1

Chapter 774: Chapter 774: From Friends to Foes_1

Wang Ye guessed correctly. At that very moment, Gavriil was sitting across from Puding, discussing the formation of Khodorkovsky’s new faction.

"These past few days, I’ve gathered some information, and even got in touch with several defectors from the first faction who now support Khodorkovsky. I have a clearer picture of their intentions ..."

Gavriil gave a detailed report on the information he had gathered over the past few days.

Yesterday, Khodorkovsky suddenly held a press conference announcing the formation of his faction, taking Gavriil by surprise.

Previously, he hadn’t paid much attention to Khodorkovsky since there were other, more pressing matters to deal with.

Plus, Khodorkovsky had been quiet for a while, showing no signs of making any bold moves.

But who would have thought that Khodorkovsky would come out of nowhere with such a shocking announcement!

His faction had just been established but had already attracted a large number of veterans from the political arena. Several key figures from the top three Duma factions have even been won over.

One can’t be sure, but if Khodorkovsky’s faction participates in the Duma election, they would be able to secure at least thirty to fifty seats!

This would surpass the current third faction and could even become the second one.

Of course, with the first faction’s current hold of over three hundred Duma seats, their position remains unthreatened, but that’s not entirely off the table.

Let’s not forget that there’s still a year left until next year’s election. In this time, Khodorkovsky will surely continue making moves and swaying more members of the first and second factions to his side.

When you add in Khodorkovsky’s substantial financial backing, who knows what could happen by next year...

......

Puding’s face was a picture of serious concern, shifting between dark and light.

It wasn’t that he was against anyone else participating in the election. It was a democratic process, so anyone with public support could run for office. He couldn’t possibly stop anyone from doing so.

But Khodorkovsky was a different kind of competitor!

Initially, Khodorkovsky only had money and no political base, so Puding had brushed off his intentions to run for office as a joke and wasn’t particularly worried.

But now it seems that things aren’t as simple as they seem.

The new faction was gaining momentum. Even the old fox Rilinov had pledged allegiance to it.

Now Khodorkovsky had both people and money on his side!

He could not be underestimated!

After a long period of contemplation, Puding finally said: "How does Mikhail react to this?"

Gavriil promptly replied: "Misha was in London a few days ago. He was busy with his new football club. According to what I’ve learned, he appeared at the Arsenal home court in the afternoon and immediately flew back to Moscow after the game. Given his reaction, I think he isn’t quite sure what Khodorkovsky is up to.")

Puding nodded, then asked: "How many people has Khodorkovsky managed to pull away from the third faction? Are there any incumbent Duma Members among them?"

"They probably managed to get so many people from the third faction due to Rilinov. Their numbers are nearly catching up with the second faction. Of course, the most numbers were drawn from our faction, but that’s to be expected; after all, our faction has the most members. The current Duma Members aren’t many, only two, but it’s hard for a Duma Member during his term to switch factions. It involves resignation and the loss is too huge. But when the election begins next year and we’re near the end of the term, things will change ..."

The Duma Members are bound to their factions, given that they campaign and are elected as representatives of these factions.

If a member were to leave their current faction halfway to join another force, their position as a Duma Member would automatically be forfeited.

Therefore, the people won over by Khodorkovsky are mainly government figures or representatives from other factions. The actual number of incumbent Duma Members is quite small.

----------

In this exchange, Gavriil reported all the information he had collected, giving Puding a clearer understanding of the situation.

Finally, Puding decisively stated: "There’s no need to take action for now, let’s continue to monitor Khodorkovsky’s movements. Also, try to find an opportunity to talk with Mikhail and figure out his intentions. As long as Mikhail doesn’t align himself with Khodorkovsky, the situation isn’t too bad. But be careful, don’t let them trick you, and carry out your investigations privately..."

Gavriil nodded in understanding.

He knew what Puding was worried about.

Khodorkovsky and Rilinov alone couldn’t create sizable waves.

But if the current Deputy Speaker Duma, the third faction’s party leader Mikhail, was to join them, the situation would be entirely different!

If the worst comes to worst, the Kremlin would have to start preparing ahead of time and be willing to take drastic actions if necessary...

Gavriil was somewhat worried about Wang Ye. He was the rising star of the political arena that he had bet heavily on!

If Wang Ye were to get involved with Khodorkovsky, causing a falling out with the Kremlin and becoming an "enemy", it would be a heartbreaking loss...

However, he couldn’t voice these concerns in front of Puding, so he nodded and said: "Alright, I’ll be careful. Tomorrow, I’ll find an opportunity to meet Misha and get some information."

----------

The next day, as soon as Wang Ye arrived at the Duma Office and started going through the stack of documents accumulated over the past few days, Gavriil called.

"Misha, I heard you’re back from London. How are things with your new team? Both you and A Bu have been the focus of the world for these past days. I’ve even seen many European media outlets reporting on it under the headline ’Russian oligarch invades UK’, ha-ha..."

On the other end of the line, Gavriil laughed heartily.

Wang Ye responded with a smile, "The tabloid press in the UK always blow things out of proportion. Even minor matters like this get made out to seem like an alien invasion of Earth. I have finished handling the club’s matters. I had been there for a few days and it was quite boring, plus there’s a lot of work here in the Duma, so I hurried back."

"How about dinner tonight? We haven’t had a chat in a long time." Gavriil suggested casually.

Out of respect for him, Wang Ye promptly agreed.

They settled on meeting at the usual place, the Turandot Restaurant, at six in the evening.

However, after hanging up, Wang Ye sunk into deep thought. He naturally understood that Gavriil, considering his status and position, wouldn’t have arranged for dinner with him without reason.

Both men were very busy!

So what could be the true reason behind this? It couldn’t possibly be because of the Arsenal Club.

It was not difficult to guess. Wang Ye himself knew why he had returned to Moscow in a hurry, and Gavriil must’ve asked him to dinner for the same reason!