Liz Hurley bedazzles guests at Elton John's party in plunging dress

Profile: Alexander Lebedev

Alexander Lebedev is regarded as a highly intelligent and cultured man Russian billionaire and ex-KGB agent Alexander Lebedev is buying the Evening Standard, a newspaper he used for information when he was a young spy based in London. According to Forbes magazine, he is Russia's 39th richest man with a net worth of $3.1bn (£2.1bn). He already owns a newspaper in Russia, has a stake in the national airline Aeroflot, and his property portfolio includes a string of boutique hotels across Europe. Unlike most Russian oligarchs, his fortune was made through banking, not natural resources. Indeed, the 49-year-old, who describes himself as a "capitalist-idealist", is keen to distance himself from the Russian oligarch class. Political animal Mr Lebedev is certainly a contradiction. He is clearly a member of Russia's establishment. He is a close friend of former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and lives in Rublyovka, Moscow's most prestigious neighbourhood. But he has used his wealth to fashion a career as a philanthropist and an independent politician. Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Advertisement Newsnight spoke to Mr Lebedev in 2003 His frustration with corruption in Russia and his willingness to expose it has brought him enemies. He was a member of the Russian parliament, the Duma, until 2007, but his political life has not been as high-flying as his business career. In October, he said he was teaming up with Mr Gorbachev to help him form the Independent Democratic Party, a new opposition movement for economic and legal reform and independent media. But the project appears to have fallen by the wayside. Tycoon intellectual He has been more successful in maintaining a dissenting voice through his newspapers. In 2006, he again teamed up with Mr Gorbachev to buy a stake in the Russian paper, the Novaya Gazeta paper where murdered journalist and Kremlin critic Anna Politkovskaya worked. It continues to report on themes the Kremlin-controlled media prefer to ignore - corruption, human rights abuses in Chechnya, and the activities of the FSB, Russia's post KGB spy agency. Lebedev is trying to do something so the country will be better Novaya Gazeta columnist Yulia Latynina Ex-KGB spy in bid to buy paper One of its journalists, columnist Yulia Latynina, told the Observer newspaper that Mr Lebedev was the genuine article - a tycoon intellectual with a social conscience. "Most Russian oligarchs seem to settle into, 'We can do nothing'," she said. "They spend their days in Courchevel (ski resort), drinking wine, eating caviar and watching girls dance on the table. "Lebedev is trying to do something so the country will be better. But he knows that if he does anything to offend people in power there will be punishment." Mr Lebedev also owned the Moscow Korrespondent, which he closed down after it published a story about the then Russian President Vladimir Putin's alleged affair with an Olympic gymnast. Foreign intelligence In an in-depth interview with the Times in May, he listed his hobbies as reading, writing, travelling, fishing and diving. He has been separated from his wife since 1998 and has one son, Evgeny, who was educated in the UK and is a familiar figure on London's social scene. Mr Lebedev was born in 16 December 1959 to Moscow intelligentsia parents. Mr Lebedev is a fan of Elton John, who played at one of his charity events His mother, a teacher, was a Communist party member, but his father, an academic, was not. His grandfather was a factory boss who was on the KGB death list during Stalin's purges. After graduating, he started researching for a PhD in economics before joining the KGB's foreign intelligence arm. He told the Times that his mother warned him against it. "She said they'll find out what your real views are. But my father said, 'No, join. The only way you will change things is from inside'." He was posted to London in the 1980s and rose to lieutenant colonel in the KGB. There are so many organisations you can help with your money, rather than just buying things Alexander Lebedev He told the Times his job was not on the military side but analysing politics and economics, in particular how events in the Soviet Union were perceived in Britain. He returned to Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union and went into business. The Observer says his first company, the Russian Investment-Finance Company, bought the small, troubled National Reserve bank in 1995. It is now one of Russia's biggest banks. Charity events Over the past three summers, Mr Lebedev has hosted a high-society ball in the UK for the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation to raise money primarily for Russian cancer charities. Elton John, his favourite musician, performed in 2007 and guests have included Madonna, Hugh Grant and JK Rowling. Several newspapers report he has built a 12-storey cancer hospital in St Petersburg where sick children can be treated free of charge. He is apparently trying to build another. He told the Times: "There are so many organisations you can help with your money, rather than just buying things." His 28-year-old son Evgeny is chairman of the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation - named after Mr Gorbachev's wife who died of leukaemia in 1999. Evgeny has been typecast as a playboy and is reportedly dating actress, Joely Richardson, who is 16 years his senior. There is much speculation as to Mr Lebedev's motives for wanting to buy the Standard. But perhaps there is some comfort in his comments after he bought shares in Novaya Gazeta. "We don't plan to influence editorial policy but to boost objectivity," he said. Liz Hurley bedazzles guests at Elton John’s party in plunging dress October 7th, 2010 - 11:56 am ICT by ANI London, Oct 7 (ANI): Elizabeth Hurley lived up to her reputation of wearing show-stopping dresses that leave little to the imagination at a private party organised by Elton John-she wore a silk cream column dress with a plunging neckline. And the model-cum-actress teamed her cleavage revealing dress with a fawn fur gilet at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, alongside an A-list guest list of glamorous stars. Hurley was accompanied by designer Patrick Cox at the event, held in honour of publisher Alexander Lebedev in London, reports the Daily Mail. And even when she tried to keep slightly warm in a fur waistcoat, her cleavage was still on full display. The ‘Bedazzled’ star recently revealed how she maintains her figure by skipping breakfast. The star-studded guest-list at the party included Sadie Frost and Sophie Dahl, to David Walliams and his model wife Lara Stone, to Elton John and David Furnish. (ANI) Sophie Dahl reveals her burgeoning baby bump for the first time By Jody Thompson Last updated at 6:44 PM on 6th October 2010 She's gone from a celebrated plus-size model to super-skinny and back to somewhere in the middle - but model-turned-TV-chef Sophie Dahl looked thrilled with her new expectant mum shape last night. The 33-year-old star beamed with delight as she showed off her baby bump for the first time at the party pal Elton John threw for Russian businessman Alexander Lebedev in London last night. Wearing a slinky cowl-necked black maxi dress, sensible flats and a long coat to protect her from the chilly evening temperatures, the towering blonde was accompanied by her more diminutive jazz singer husband Jamie Cullum, 31. Bump in the night: Sophie Dahl had a rare night out to the party Elton John threw for Russian businessman Alexander Lebedev in London and showed off her blooming pregnant belly for the first time Dahl-ed up: Sophie was looking glam for her rare night out on the town The pair announced at the beginning of last month that they were to be parents for the first time and Sophie is now around four and a half months gone.   More... Liz Hurley, as upfront as ever, attends Elton John's party Expectant Penny Lancaster blooms on the catwalk as she supports cancer sufferer sister-in-law Sophie - who presented BBC2 cookery show The Delicious Miss Dahl earlier this year - married her long-time love Jamie in the New Year during a 'winter wonderland' secret ceremony in the New Forest after a year's engagement.   They decided against a lucrative magazine deal to celebrate the nuptials in private with a group of their closest friends and family. Expectant parents: Jazz singer Jamie Cullum kept a close eye on his wife Dahl became notorious when she posed naked for Opium perfume in her modelling heyday, shortly after losing weight after working as a so-called 'plus size' model for many years. A friend of Sophie's said last month of her pregnancy: ‘She doesn’t yet know whether it’s a boy or a girl and she doesn’t care. She and Jamie are just delighted at the prospect of becoming parents.' The friend added: ‘Sophie has always been broody and she adores children. We all think she will be a superb mother and Jamie is also elated.' Rocket men: Elton John and David Furnish were said to have organised the bash for Russian businessman Alexander Lebedev Party people: Sadie Frost, plus Lara Stone and David Walliams, were all at the party which was held at London's Royal Courts Of Justice She laughed: ‘The big joke is whether the child is going to be statuesque like Sophie or small like Jamie.’ They'll find out soon enough when they eagerly anticipated child arrives in March. Earlier this year the couple, who were married in January, moved into the £3million home in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, where Sophie’s grandfather, the author Roald Dahl, once lived. The loved-up pair last night joined stars including the aforementioned Mr John, as well as Liz Hurley, JK Rowling, David Walliams and his wife Lara Stone at the glitzy bash, held at the Royal Courts Of Justice in London. Liz Hurley bedazzles guests at Elton John's party in plunging dress 10/7/2010 10:13:00 AM London, Oct 7 (ANI): Elizabeth Hurley lived up to her reputation of wearing show-stopping dresses that leave little to the imagination at a private party organised by Elton John-she wore a silk cream column dress with a plunging neckline. &ltLAYER SRC="http://www.southasianews.com/fastc_san_300x250_001.html" width="300" height="250" border="0" MARGINWIDTH="0" MARGINHEIGHT="0" SCROLLING="no"&gt &lt/LAYER&gt And the model-cum-actress teamed her cleavage revealing dress with a fawn fur gilet at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, alongside an A-list guest list of glamorous stars. Hurley was accompanied by designer Patrick Cox at the event, held in honour of publisher Alexander Lebedev in London, reports the Daily Mail. And even when she tried to keep slightly warm in a fur waistcoat, her cleavage was still on full display. The 'Bedazzled' star recently revealed how she maintains her figure by skipping breakfast. The star-studded guest-list at the party included Sadie Frost and Sophie Dahl, to David Walliams and his model wife Lara Stone, to Elton John and David Furnish. (ANI) Liz Hurley's breasts attend Lebedev party, still not the biggest tits there 1 of 11 - David Walliams and Lara Stone Lebedev? Bless you Wed, 06/10/2010 - 10:45 By Jimmy Hill So Elton John now throws parties for Russian oligarchs because that's the kind of guy he is these days. There's nothing he loves more than moving in the same circles as Eastern Bloc billionaires (metaphorically speaking), especially one named after a sneeze. That's right, we're talking Alexander Lebedev, the man who's owns London's most irritating free paper, the Freevnin Stanaard (I'm pretty sure that's how it's pronounced). Cheers Al. TOP TIP: Will Self's column is particularly good for wiping your arse with, and it's free. At the party last night were all kinds of fascinating celebrities: Jamie Cullum and Sophie Dahl, Kevin Spacey and his sense of entitlement, Ralph Fiennes (who looks more and more like Hannibal Lecter everyday), a haggard looking Sadie Frost, Stephen Fry, Sam Taylor-Wood and her babysitter Aaron Johnson, a very smug looking David Walliams and Lara Stone, and a this-whole-cycling-everywhere-bollocks-is-really-starting-to-wear-thin Boris Johnson. Of course the guests of honour were Liz Hurley's right and left breasts, looking particularly glamorous on the night the pair arrived together and were given pride of place in a lovely fur presentation case carried by their long suffering yet apparently ageless owner. So prominent were they at the event that we were going to feature them on the front page, but that seemed crass*.