BORIS BEREZOVSKY, DEPUTY SECRETARY, RUSSIAN SECURITY COUNCIL; MOSCOW

There are Russian businessmen richer than Boris Berezovsky but few with more political clout. More than anyone else in Russia today, Berezovsky personifies the way two dark spheres--the often violent world of Big Business and the secretive nature of Kremlin politics--intersect. Confidants of President Boris Yeltsin have come and gone, but Berezovsky's influence has not waned.

Since late last year, Berezovsky has been deputy secretary of Russia's security council, the top-level body that coordinates defense and security issues. He will play a major role if Yeltsin's continuing ill health leads to a political crisis. If the Russian political establishment ever concludes...