Petersburg at the time. After Putin became President of Russia, Kovalchuk saw a drastic rise in his career. Today, Yuri is the largest shareholder of Rossiya Bank, which holds the reins of two big insurance companies, Sogas and SK Transneft. Furthermore, he has interests in six federal TV channels. Most recently (in late 2013), he acquired 50% of Tele2 Russia, the fourth-largest cellular operator in Russia.
