He was also engaged in a social outreach program, Yukos' own youth movement called "New Civilization" (Russian: «Новая Цивилизация»).

The movement, which was extremely costly, had a mission to change Russia, and involved summer camps and young people engaging in the political system with their own party and parliament.

[7] Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an enemy of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, was imprisoned for eight years for fraud and tax evasion, a conviction that drew skepticism in the West.

During the recession, Gorkov oversaw an overhaul of the workforce, reducing the number of employees from 270,000 to 240,000 to increase efficiency and profit.

During the financial crisis of 2007–08, Vnesheconombank's status as a state-owned bank forced it to assist the government with the domestic economy.

[13] According to Foreign Policy's assessment, VEB "functions as an off-the-books kitty that allows President Vladimir Putin to reward his allies and shower money on his pet projects and political priorities.

"[14] When Gorkov arrived in 2012, VEB was struggling to stay afloat; it reportedly needed 1.3 trillion rubles (approximately $22.8 billion) by 2020 to avoid defaulting on its debt.

[12][14] In July 2014, Vnesheconombank was slapped with sanctions by the European Union and the United States over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

[19] In 2017, Gorkov drew significant attention in Western media over his December 2016 meeting with Jared Kushner, son-in-law and top adviser to then president-elect Donald Trump.

[27][13] Gorkov's status as an FSB alumnus has led to media scrutiny of his past, especially as VEB acted as a cover for convicted Russian spy Yevgeny Buryakov, who was deported from the U.S. in March after serving 30 months in federal prison.

CNN also noted that when Donald Trump brought the Miss Universe Pageant to Moscow in 2013, its biggest sponsor was Sberbank, led by Gorkov at the time.