Arsenal's Russian investor plays ball with Kremlin

MOSCOW, Aug 31 (Reuters) Alisher Usmanov, the new owner of a 14.6 percent stake in Arsenal, has at least two things in common with the first Russian to own a leading English soccer club.

He and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich made a large part of their billion-dollar fortunes from metals assets grabbed in the rush for resources after the break-up of the Soviet Union.

And both know the value of playing ball with the Kremlin.

Usmanov, 53, was born in Soviet Uzbekistan although he is now a Russian citizen. At the core of his 5.6 billion dollar fortune, ranking him 18th in Forbes magazine's Russian rich list, are the country's largest iron ore mines and two major steel mills.

He plans to float shares in his Metalloinvest business, which has grown to become Russia's fifth-largest steel maker, in an initial public offering in London in the next few years.

His more recent investments in media, telecoms and banking suggest a fierce loyalty to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Usmanov bought 800 million dollar of stock in state-controlled Sberbank this year after the Kremlin called on establishment oligarchs to subscribe to a billion rights issue that had met a lukewarm response from some portfolio investors.

His purchase of the rights to Soviet-era cartoons from U.S.

owners will restore the popular, furry Cheburashka character to Russian screens on a new children's channel proposed by Putin.

Usmanov, a father of two, has also been a central player in investments made by Gazprom in his role as general director of the gas monopoly's investment arm, Gazprominvestholding.

''He's massively close to the Kremlin. He's their investor,'' said a steel trader who knows Usmanov.

PUTIN AIDE Usmanov graduated in 1976 from the Moscow State Institute for International Relations, the same year as President Putin's EU adviser, Sergei Yastrzhembsky.

Usmanov subsequently served six years in an Uzbek prison. He was later pardoned and his conviction wiped from police records.

Since then, Usmanov's fortunes have grown. His media interests include stakes in MegaFon, Russia's third-largest mobile phone operator, and music television channel Muz TV.

Three Arsenal players punch the air on the front page of Friday's edition of Kommersant newspaper, one of the two most widely read Russian business dailies. Its owner is also Usmanov.

''I have supported Arsenal for eight years,'' Usmanov told the newspaper. ''I plan gradually to increase my stake, because I consider the value will grow and will soon reach a fair level.

The club has everything it needs to achieve this.'' Usmanov is represented by law firm Schillings, which specialises in protecting the reputation of high-profile individuals and brands.

He is also no stranger to Britain, having once built up a stake in the country's leading steel maker, Corus. Attempts to gain a seat on the board were thwarted and he sold his shares.

His sporting interests extend beyond soccer. His wife, Irina Viner, is a rhythmic gymnastic coach and Usmanov himself is president of the European Fencing Confederation.

''He was quite a good sabre fencer in Soviet times,'' said Max Geuter, the confederation's general secretary. ''We're happy to have him. We never dreamed of having so much money.'' REUTERS TB RAI2143