Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich was born in Saratov in south-western Russia, a few hundred miles from the border with Ukraine, in 1966. His mother, Irina, died of blood poisoning when he was one year old and his father died two years later after an accident with a construction crane. After that Mr Abramovich was raised by relatives, spending time in Komi, in north-west Russia, where money was tight and winter temperatures low.
