Roman Abramovich
Abramovich in 2013, photo by Prphotos
Birth Name: Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich
Place of Birth: Saratov, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia)
Date of Birth: 24 October, 1966
Ethnicity:
*75% Ashkenazi Jewish
*25% UKrainian
Roman Abramovich is a Russian billionaire businessperson, investor, and politician. He also has Israeli, Lithuanian, and Portuguese citizenship. He was a Member of the State Duma, from 10 January, 2000 to 17 December, 2000, and Governor of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, from 17 December, 2000 to 3 July, 2008. Roman was the owner of Chelsea Football Club, an English soccer team. He is the Chairman of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, and a trustee of the Moscow Jewish Museum.
Roman was born in the southern Russian city of Saratov, the son of Irina Vasilievna, a music teacher, who was born in Kiev, and Arkady/Aron Abramovich Leibovich, who was born in Tauragė, Lithuania, and worked in the economic council of the Komi ASSR. Roman’s paternal grandparents were Belarusian Jews. Roman’s maternal grandfather was of Ukrainian (non-Jewish) descent, and Roman’s maternal grandmother was Jewish. Orphaned at the age of three, after both of his parents died, he was raised in his uncles’ families, living first in Ukhta, a remote area of northern Russia in the Komi Republic, and then in Moscow.
Roman has five children, including businessperson Arkadiy Abramovich, with his former wife, Aeroflot stewardess, Irina Abramovich (born Irina Vyacheslavovna Malandina); and two children with his former wife, Russian-American art collector, businessperson, magazine editor, and socialite Dasha Zhukova. Dasha is the daughter of businessperson Alexander Zhukov and molecular biologist Yelena Zhukova. She is also of Jewish heritage.
As part of his involvement with the Jewish community, Roman has established a forest of 25,000 new and rehabilitated trees in memory of Lithuania’s Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust, titled Seed a Memory, allowing relatives of victims to name trees after them.
His Portuguese citizenship was obtained evidently through a claim to Sephardi Jewish ancestry.
Roman’s paternal grandfather was Nakhim/Nachman Leibowitz/Leibovich Abramovich/Abramavičius (the son of Leiba Lev Abramovich and Hanna Rosa Berkover). Nakhim was deported to Siberia by the Soviet authorities while living in Tauragė, Lithuania. He died in an NKVD camp (Soviet) in the settlement of Resheti, Krasnoyarsk Territory, in 1942. Leiba was the son of Berko Abramovich and Malka.
Roman’s paternal grandmother was Toybe/Taube/Tatyana Shimonovna/Stepanovna Berkover (the daughter of Shimon Berkover and Ite Goldstein). Toybe was born in Rivne, Rivnens’ka oblast, Ukraine.
Roman’s maternal grandfather was named Vasily Mikhailenko.
Roman’s maternal grandmother was Faina Borisovna Grutman (the daughter of Boris/Berko Grutman and Rachel Apeltsin). Boris was the son of Gersh Grutman. Rachel was born in Yasnogorodka, Kiev, the daughter of Shlomo Apeltsin.
Sources: http://russiapedia.rt.com
https://www.theguardian.com
https://www.bbc.com
Family histories of Roman Abramovich – http://roman-abramovich.com
http://www.eg.ru
Genealogy of Roman Abramovich – https://www.geni.com
Here’s an older source in Portuguese about the allegations that some verification of Sephardi Jewish ancestry may have been falsified. The article mentions Roman.
https://cnnportugal.iol.pt/comunidade-israelita-do-porto/daniel-litvak/rabino-que-fez-de-abramovich-portugues-tem-mais-de-3-milhoes-depositados-em-bancos/20220311/622bbe220cf2c7ea0f1eb75e
More than likely, he is just of Ashkenazi/Ukrainian descent.
Seems likely that Roman’s claim of Sepahrdi Jewish ancestry may have been falsified. There’s a scandal and investigation involved with a rabbi who helped verify Sephardi ancestry. Given what we know of his family tree and where he is from, it seems highly likely that Roman has no Sepahrdi roots.
Source about the investigation and mention of Roman:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60724509