Vasily Anisimov (Croatian: Vasilij Anisimov;[1] born 19 September 1951)[2] is a Soviet, Russian and Croatian billionaire businessman who made his fortune in Russia in a variety of industries, including aluminium, real estate[3] and vodka production, as well as the former president of the Russian Judo Federation.

[5] Anisimov is founder of real estate development company Coalco[6] and is a former shareholder of Metalloinvest, a Russian industrial conglomerate, which consolidated in 2006 JSC Metalloinvest's assets (the Mikhailovsky GOK and the Ural Steel) with those of Gazmetall JSC (the Lebedinsky GOK and the Oskol Electrometallurgical Plant).

[8][9] After graduation he worked as a commodity expert and then became commercial director of the Kaztorgodezhda (Russian: «Казторгодежда») trading base in Kazakhstan.

[9][10] From 1982 to 1986 Anisimov was head of the working supply department of the Kalinin Nuclear Power Plant and then from 1986 to 1989, he served as general director of the Moscow-based hardware wholesaler, Roskhoztorg (Russian: «Росхозторг»).

[9] He recalled his activities as involving the sale of scarce goods, the presence of his own office and a personal car "Volga".

[9] The firm's special exporter status made it possible to trade with clientele in Western countries, and Anisimov developed his personal approach of accelerating bureaucratic procedures by taking the appropriate people to dinner.

[9] This coincided with a turbulent time in Russian history with the privatisation of state-owned assets and fierce competition for control of the valuable aluminium industry.

[20] Before 1999, he was on the Board of Directors of the July 1990 established Bidzina Ivanishvili associated Moscow based Rossiysky Credit Bank (Russian: ОАО АКБ «Российский кредит»).

[24] In December 2004 Anisimov and Usmanov acquired 97.6% of Mikhailovsky GOK,[25] in one of the largest private equity deals in Russian history.

[31] Anisimov eventually sold his 20% stake in the Metalloinvest to Russian bank VTB in 2011[32] citing the need for a change in The Moscow Times, "I am 59 years old, and I work 18 hours a day.

[57] Anisimov has served as a member of the administrative council of Rossiysky Kredit[58] and one of many "Russian oligarchs" named in the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, CAATSA, signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2017.

[59][60] Anisimov responded to the sanctions by saying this was a pity but given the right conditions Russia and the United States could work closely together, "reason must win; it's only a matter of time.

"[61] In 2016, Anisimov negotiated a deal with Kazakh KTZ Express on the construction of a transport and unloading complex "Central Dry Port" worth $169 million.

[74] In 2017 Anisimov was presented with a certificate conferring sixth dan by head of the International Judo Federation Marius Vizer.

[78] Church restoration work includes the Temple-Monument on Blood in the Name of All Saints on the site of Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg, where the family of the last Russian emperor was shot.

[79][80] Their daughter, also named Galina, was murdered along with her husband, Alexander Nalimov, both found "bound and killed execution-style," in their Ekaterinburg home in 2000.

[81][82] A second daughter is the actress and entrepreneur Anna Schafer,[83] star of the 2017 film Elizabeth Blue and co-founder of cosmetics range Bare Essential Organics.