One day in May 2006, Evgeny Lebedev’s public relations agent took him to see Tatler editor-in-chief Geordie Greig. She told him that Evgeny wanted to launch a charity with a Russian called Michael “Goo-ba-cheff” at Althorp House, Princess Diana’s childhood home, and would he like to cover it in the magazine. Do you mean, Greig asked her, “Gorbachev, the Man Who Changed The World”?
She looked blank, but Evgeny appears pleased that Greig got the significance of the event. Tatler wouldn’t only cover it, Greig said, but would co-host the party. And what a party it would be: “A Russian Midsummer Fantasy.”
Evgeny, then 27 years old, and his former KGB officer father Alexander spent £2m in today’s money on oysters and golden Oscietra caviar; on people in 18th-century dress sitting in trees like a “Watteau painting” and a troop of Cossacks who charged from the woods and then did an equestrian ballet in front of guests including Salman Rushdie and Orlando Bloom, Tracey Emin and Claire Danes. In the end, the “Lebs” raised £500,000 less for the charity than they spent on the party. But its returns, in the long term, were astronomical.
The Althorp party marked Evgeny’s entry into London society and, ultimately, the heart of Britain’s establishment. Within 15 fast years, which covered waves of Russian money crashing on the UK, changing relations between the two countries, the decline of public service and rise of private interests in politics, Evgeny secured a seat in the House of Lords as “Baron Lebedev, of Hampton in the London borough of Richmond-upon-Thames and Siberia in the Russian Federation”. Along the way, he acquired national newspapers, countless celebrities from Katie Price to Elton John and Judi Dench, aristocrats, and powerful politicians, not least Boris Johnson.
It’s an extraordinary ascent, in many ways opaque – yet very well photographed.
LONDON – NOVEMBER 20: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) (L to R) David Furnish and Evgeny Lebedev attend a cocktail party held to raise sponsorship funds for Johnny Bergius, a trustee of the Elton John Aids Foundation, towards his climb of the Aconcagua mountain which was held at Claridges Hotel on November 20, 2006 in London. The Aconcagua at 22,831 feet is both the highest mountain in South America and the tallest outside of the Himalayas. (Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images) 
LONDON – JANUARY 27: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) Evgeny Lebedev attends Andy and Patti Wong’s Chinese New Year Party at Madame Tussauds on January 27, 2007 in London, England. The dress code for the party, thrown by one of London’s major society couples to see in the Year Of The Pig, was ‘burlesque, debauched or Hollywood black-tie’. (Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Above left: David Furnish and Evgeny attend a fundraiser party.
Above right: Evgeny attends Andy and Patti Wong’s Chinese New Year Party at Madame Tussauds in 2007 in fancy dress.
LONDON – JANUARY 28: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) Yefgeni Lebedev (C) and Victoria (L ) ex girlf JK attends Andy and Patti Wongs Chinese New Year Party at the Royal Courts Of Justice on January 28, 2006 in London, England. The dress code for the party, thrown by one of London’s major society couples to see in the Year Of The Dog, is ‘metallic spendour’. (Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images) 
NORTHAMPTON, UNITED KINGDOM – JUNE 10: (UK MAGAZINES OUT, EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) Actress Claire Danes and President of the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation Evgeny Lebedev (R), attend at the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation Launch Party at Althorp House on June 10, 2006 in Northampton, England. The night is themed ‘A Midsummer Russian Fantasy’ at Diana, Princess Of Wales’s family home to launch the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation – an international fund fighting child cancer. (Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Above left: Yefgeni at Andy and Patti Wong’s Chinese New Year Party at the Royal Courts Of Justice, London, 2006
Above right: Evgeny with Claire Danes at the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation Launch Party at Althorp House, June 2006
LONDON – JUNE 02: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME. NO UK MAGAZINES) (L-R) Ana Matronic, Mikhail Gorbachev and Evgeny Lebedev attend the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation Party at Stud House, Hampton Court Palace on June 2, 2007 in Richmond upon Thames, London, England. The night is in aid of the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation – an international fund fighting child cancer. (Photo by Dave M. Benett/Getty Images) 
LONDON – JULY 11: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) Evgeny Lebedev and Geri Halliwell attend the Serpentine Summer Party, at The Serpentine Gallery on July 11, 2007 in London, England. (Photo by Dave M. Benett/Getty Images)
Above left: Ana Matronic, Gorbachev and Evgeny attend the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation Party at Hampton Court Palace, June 2007
Above right: Evgeny with Geri Halliwell at the Serpentine Summer Party at The Serpentine Gallery, London, July 2007
LONDON – NOVEMBER 14: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) Evgeny Lebedev and Lady Gabriella Windsor attend a private dinner hosted by Evgeny Lebedev to launch his new restaurant Sake No Hana, at Sake No Hana on November 14, 2007 in London, England. (Photo by Dave M. Benett/Getty Images) 
LONDON – NOVEMBER 14: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) Evgeny Lebedev and Charles Spencer attend a private dinner hosted by Evgeny Lebedev to launch his new restaurant Sake No Hana, at Sake No Hana on November 14, 2007 in London, England. (Photo by Dave M. Benett/Getty Images)
Evgeny at the launch of his restaurant Sake No Hana with (above left) Lady Gabriella Windsor and (above right) Charles Spencer, London, November 2007
LONDON – JANUARY 26: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) Margo Stilley and Evgeny Lebedev attend Andy & Patti Wong’s Chinese New Year party 2007, at the County Hall Gallery on January 26, 2008 in London, England. (Photo by Dave M. Benett/Getty Images) 
LONDON – JUNE 02: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME. NO UK MAGAZINES) Anna Friel and Evgeny Lebedev attend the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation after party at Stud House, Hampton Court Palace on June 2, 2007 in Richmond upon Thames, London, England. The night is in aid of the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation – an international fund fighting child cancer. (Photo by Dave M. Benett/Getty Images)
Above left: Evgeny with Margo Stilley at Andy & Patti Wong’s Chinese New Year party, London, 2007
Above right: Evgeny with Anna Friel at the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation afterparty, Hampton Court Palace, June 2007
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – OCTOBER 16: Celebrities attend Nicky Haslam’s party for Janet de Botton to beat the Credit-Crunch at his ancestral home “Parkstead House” in Roehampton, London. on October 16, 2008. London, England. (Photo by Dave M. Benett/Getty Images) 
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – JUNE 06: Christian Louboutin and Evgeny Lebedev arrive at the Fourth Annual Fundraising Gala Dinner for the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation at the Stud House Hampton Court Palace on June 6, 2009 in London, England. (Photo by Nick Harvey/WireImage)
Above left: Evgeny and HRH Prince Michael of Kent at Nicky Haslam’s party for Janet de Botton to beat the Credit-Crunch, Parkstead House, 2008
Above right: Evgeny with Christian Louboutin at the Fourth Annual Fundraising Gala Dinner for the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation, House Hampton Court Palace, June 2009
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – NOVEMBER 15: Evgeny Lebedev and Lord Peter Mandelson attends the reception for the opening of an exhibition on Azerbaijani carpets at One Marylebone on November 15, 2010 in London, England. (Photo by Jon Furniss/WireImage) 
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 28: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME. MANDATORY CREDIT PHOTO BY DAVE M. BENETT/GETTY IMAGES REQUIRED) Chairman of the London Evening Standard Evgeny Lebedev (L) and Stephen Fry attend the London Evening Standard Theatre Awards at The Savoy Hotel on November 28, 2010 in London, England. (Photo by Dave M. Benett/Getty Images)
Above left: Evgeny with Lord Peter Mandelson at the reception for the opening of an exhibition on Azerbaijani carpets, London, November 2010
Above right: Evgeny with Stephen Fry at the London Evening Standard Theatre Awards, London, November 2010
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 23: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME. MANDATORY CREDIT PHOTO BY DAVE M. BENETT/GETTY IMAGES REQUIRED) Lord Rothermere and Evgeny Lebedev attend the reception ahead of the London Evening Standard Theatre Awards, at the Royal Opera House on November 23, 2009 in London, England. (Photo by Dave M. Benett/Getty Images) 
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 23: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME. MANDATORY CREDIT PHOTO BY DAVE M. BENETT/GETTY IMAGES REQUIRED) Evgeny Lebedev and London Mayor Boris Johnson attend the reception ahead of the London Evening Standard Theatre Awards, at the Royal Opera House on November 23, 2009 in London, England. (Photo by Dave M. Benett/Getty Images)
Evgeny at the London Evening Standard Theatre Awards with (above left) Daily Mail owner Lord Rothermere and (above right) then London mayor Boris Johnson
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 15: Jerry Hall and Rupert Murdoch leaving the Evgeny Lebedev Christmas party held at a private residence in North London on December 15, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by GOR/GC Images) 
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 07: Rod Stewart seen attending the Evgeny Lebedev Christmas Party in North London on December 7, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by GOR/GC Images)
Above left: Jerry Hall and Rupert Murdoch leaving Evgeny’s 2017 Christmas party, London
The 2018 Christmas party was attended by Rod Stewart (above right), Jeremy and Lucia Hunt (below left) and Peter Mandelson (below right)
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 07: Jeremy Hunt and Lucia Hunt seen attending the Evgeny Lebedev Christmas Party in North London on December 7, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by GOR/GC Images) 
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 07: Peter Mandleson seen attending the Evgeny Lebedev Christmas Party in North London on December 7, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by GOR/GC Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 13: (EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE) David Cameron (R) and Samantha Cameron seen attending Evgeny Lebedev’s Christmas Party at a private North London residence on December 13, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by GORC/GC Images) 
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 13: EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE (R) Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds seen attending Evgeny Lebedev’s Christmas Party at a private North London residence on December 13, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by GORC/GC Images)
Evgeny’s 2019 Christmas party was attended by former prime minister David Cameron and his wife and Samantha (top left) and the current occupants of Number 10 Boris and Carrie Johnson (above right)
Photographs by David M. Benett/Getty Images, GORC/GC Images, Stuart C. Wilson – WPA Pool / Getty Images, Jeremy Selwyn , Nick Harvey/WireImage, Jon Furniss/WireImage
