Russian tycoon-explorer to visit International Space Station

William Atkins
Tuesday, 04 September 2007 19:25

Science - Space

Grocery businessman and politician Vladimir Gruzdev will be the first Russian to visit the International Space Station (ISS), as was announced on Monday, September 3, 2007, by Anatoly Perminov, leader of the Russian Federal Space Agency.

The September 2, 2007 iTWire article “First Russian to become tourist at International Space Station” reported that a yet-to-be-identified Russian had been selected to visit the ISS. It has now been announced that Gruzdev will be that space tourist (“spaceflight participant”)--the first Russian tourist to gain access to the ISS.

It was also reported by the August 8, 2007 iTWire article “Russian sub expedition first to reach north polar sea bottom” that Gruzdev was part of a pioneering Russian submarine expedition, the first to reach the bottom of the Arctic Ocean around the North Pole. The primary purpose of the underwater expedition was to strength Russia’s claim to that section of the seafloor, which is thought to hold large amounts of oil and natural gas deposits.

Gruzdev is the founder and co-owner of Seventh Continent (Russian: Sedmoi Continent), a Russian chain of grocery stores. He also has interest in the MKapital real-estate company, and is the deputy in the State Duma for the United Russian party—thus, a member of the Russian parliament’s lower house. Gruzdev was born in 1967.

Now 40 years old, Gruzdev is reportedly worth, according to a Russian finance magazine, about three hundred million U.S. dollars, although that estimate is based solely in interest in Seventh Continent. The U.S. finance magazine, Forbes, estimates Gruzdev’s wealth at eight hundred twenty million U.S. dollars, which is based on his participation in Seventh Continent and MKcapital.

Gruzdev reportedly will make the trip to the ISS in 2009, but could fly as early as September 2008. The cost of the trip is estimated between $20 and $25 million U.S. dollars. However, Virginia-based Space Adventures, who brokers the deals between the wealthy space tourists and the Russian space agency, said it had recently completed deals for $40 million U.S. dollars.