Yuri Golitsyn

Yuri Olegovich Golitsyn (Юрий Олегович Голицын, born June 24th 1998 - died October 1st 2049) was a Russian businessman, investor, and director of Pokrov. At the time of his death, Golitsyn was the eighth-wealthiest man in Russia.

Born in Moscow, Golitsyn studied in London City and the United States (US) before taking a management role at Exxon Neftegas in 2021. He joined Polyargaz in 2028 before moving into the technology sector with the co-founding of Pokrov in 2032. Golitsyn’s outspoken criticism of G6 and neural colloids had made him a controversial figure in Russian and international circles.

On October 2nd 2049, Russian state authorities confirmed Golitsyn had been aboard the helicopter of Xu Shaoyong when it was destroyed by a drone strike in Beijing, China on October 1st 2049. The deaths of Golitsyn and Xu are being investigated as an assassination, with charges brought against Spencer Hagen.

On October 10th 2049, a Russian probe of Pokrov’s activities revealed that Golitsyn had been responsible for harbouring Connie Muren after her disappearance in 2040, though it remains unclear whether he played a role in Matvey Kozlov’s murder of Muren on October 8th 2049.

Early life and educationPermalink

Yuri Olegovich Golitsyn was born on June 24th 1998 in Moscow, Russia to oil executive Oleg Golitsyn and psychologist Agata Krupin. His father’s government ties and prominent position at Lukoil afforded Golitsyn a privileged upbringing, including placement at Harrow School. In 2018, he completed a Bachelor of Science with honours in Philosophy and Economics at the London School of Economics, followed by a Master of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.

CareerPermalink

PolyargazPermalink

In 2021, Golitsyn took a management role at Exxon Neftegas. He oversaw several capacity expansion projects and quickly earned a reputation as a shrewd businessman and industry expert. In 2028, Golitsyn left Exxon Neftegas to join his father’s Polyargaz venture, where he supervised financing deals for the company’s Arctic Ocean drilling programme, securing over ¥213 trillion in funding in two years.

Despite these successes, Golitsyn repeatedly clashed with other members of senior management over various projects and priorities. In October 2031, he resigned his position at Polyargaz due to dissatisfaction with the company’s troubled Lomonosov Ridge project, coupled with the strain from the unexpected suicide of his brother Arkady Golitsyn on September 2nd 2031.

PokrovPermalink

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On April 13th 2032, Golitsyn co-founded Pokrov with Violaine Michiels. ^[1] At first, Pokrov marketed its encryption services exclusively to wealthy private individuals, particularly celebrities and executives. By March 2033, the company had grown to over 120 full-time employees and successfully signed its first enterprise-level customers.

In 2035, Golitsyn formally signed an agreement to provide intelligent encryption technology to the Russian Ministry of Defense. This paved the way for an initial public offering (IPO) on October 25th 2035, which was subject to concerns that Pokrov would be unable to expand into major Western markets if it refused to provide backdoor access for local law enforcement agencies. Despite these concerns, Pokrov would eventually become one of Russia’s largest IPOs of the 2030s, with a valuation of ¥5.5 billion.

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Following Russia’s vote in favour of passing Resolution ES-13/6 in February 2041, Golitsyn voiced his opposition to Russian participation in G6 and lobbied against the network’s use of neural colloids, calling it “a dagger in the gut for individual privacy and autonomy.” Golitsyn’s outspoken criticism of G6 soured his relationship with Russian President Denis Molchalin, which led to Pokrov being blocklisted from lucrative security contracts. Golitsyn had also alleged that President Molchalin exerted political pressure on his financing partners, forcing the cancellation of several major projects.

Golitsyn’s continued skepticism of G6 earned him public support from opposition politicians and far-right militant groups such as the Frontoviki. In 2044, Golitsyn announced a partnership between Pokrov and Nuance to establish a new division for G6 compliance to advise companies concerned about data transmission and security. The announcement drew further criticism from the Russian government officials as well as Xu Shaoyong, who dismissed the concept as “utterly unnecessary.”

In 2045, the Russian government launched a criminal investigation into Pokrov, accusing the company of illegally reverse engineering colloid technology. This was followed by additional civil suits filed by Zhupao, alleging that Pokrov had been developing and selling collocidals since 2042. In a public statement, Golitsyn denied any wrongdoing and condemned President Molchalin and Zhupao for “deliberately misrepresenting the long-term risks of colloid implants.”

In September 2045, all pending legal actions were unexpectedly dismissed, with market observers initially suspecting an out-of-court settlement. ^[2] In October 2045, Golitsyn was linked to a Zhupao data breach that resulted in the leak of proprietary information to G6. At a press conference on October 26th 2045, Golitsyn denied any involvement with the breach while jokingly suggesting that Zhupao seemed “like a prime candidate for our Scandium Vault service.”

In July 2047, G6 flagged an increase in symptomatic cases of Cariappa-Muren disease (CMD), which led to widespread fears that the second wave of the CMD pandemic was starting earlier than epidemiological forecasts had indicated. Accusing China of “trading on CMD phobia,” Golitsyn claimed that the Russian government was “blindly going along with China” and pointed to Russia’s G6 data, which had identified the second wave of CMD as a rise in cases of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). When these cases were linked to colloid implants in November 2047, Golitsyn repeated his claims of “unrepresented and underreported health impacts” of colloid technology.

AssassinationPermalink

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On October 1st 2049, Golitsyn was assassinated in a cyberattack that took place at Beijing Daxing International Airport. ^[3] He was aboard the private helicopter of Xu when it was shot down at 16:51 CST by a missile fired from one of the airport’s security drones. The missile struck the passenger compartment of the helicopter as it was touching down, causing an explosion and instantly killing everyone aboard.

Golitsyn’s presence aboard the helicopter was not known until October 2nd 2049, with his movements prior to the attack remaining the subject of a separate investigation. ^[4] According to unconfirmed reports, Golitsyn was able to remain undetected in China by making use of experimental baffle technology developed by Pokrov.

It is currently unclear whether Xu, Golitsyn, or both men were the target of the attack, though the Chinese investigation has established a connection to Adira. In response to the charges brought against Spencer Hagen on October 10th 2049, President Molchalin formally requested for the findings of the investigation to be shared with international authorities. ^[5]

On October 5th 2049, a Pokrov official indicated that Matvey Kozlov, who served as Golitsyn’s bodyguard, has not been seen for “several days,” giving rise to rumours that he may have been aboard Xu’s helicopter when it was destroyed. Subsequent to this, President Molchalin announced a probe of Pokrov’s recent activities.

On October 7th 2049, the Russian probe revealed that Golitsyn had travelled to China along with his advance team, which he had concealed by making it seem like he was communicating from the Pokrov complex in Innopolis. Amateur and CCTV footage obtained in Beijing suggested Golitsyn made use of a baffle to move between vehicles unseen and board Xu’s helicopter during its unscheduled stop. Russian investigators indicated that Kozlov travelled with Golitsyn and that he was stranded in China.

On October 8th 2049, the body of Kozlov was found in Dharwad, India, with a subsequent investigation of the murder scene indicating that Kozlov was responsible for the death of Connie Muren. The investigation also revealed the presence of high-tech anti-surveillance equipment, including baffles, collocidals, and high-speed delivery drones supplied by Pokrov. This reignited public interest in the theory that Golitsyn was working with Efua Amankwah-Crouse on the development of an artificial intelligence (AI), possibly called AДИРА, with the capacity to penetrate G6’s quantum encryption.

On October 10th 2049, Russian investigators uncovered details of a Pokrov operation to conceal Muren’s presence at the company’s Innopolis complex, where a clandestine sub-basement had been constructed for that purpose in 2042. Additional records indicate that Kozlov was hired by Golitsyn in 2043 to assemble an internal security team with the purpose of providing both physical and digital security for Muren.

PoliticsPermalink

On October 6th 2049, an audit of Pokrov’s activities indicated that Golitsyn had made plans to step down as director and launch a bid for the Russian presidency, with an official announcement that was scheduled for October 2nd 2049. According to the audit, Golitsyn had been in talks with Reclaiming Russian Pride (RRP) to take over the party leadership in a direct challenge to President Molchalin. An RRP spokesperson claimed that Golitsyn was “in possession of something big to give the party an electoral edge.”

On October 9th 2049, President Molchalin carried out a purge of senior United Russia members who had launched a leadership challenge in September 2049, including party chair Kirill Utkin. In a televised speech, President Molchalin took aim at Golitsyn, accusing him of “supporting anti-G6 factions within and without this government as part of an orchestrated coup.” He also approved a commission to take the first steps towards nationalising Pokrov and its assets.

Personal lifePermalink

Golitsyn was an enigmatic figure who eschewed publicity and avoided the opulent lifestyle generally associated with second-generation Russian oligarchs. After divorcing his first spouse in 2034, Golitsyn married actor Lyanka Pugachev, with whom he had two children.

In his twenties, Golitsyn was a gossip website favourite along with his brother Arkady, who was known for his lavish spending and celebrity relationships. In August 2031, one of Arkady’s private cloud drives was hacked and its contents sold to Zhizn, which republished them online. While legal action eventually forced its removal, the stolen material was mirrored across major file-sharing services, including video diaries, drug prescriptions, and compromising images.

On September 2nd 2031, Arkady’s body was found in a hotel room in Sochi, with the cause of death ruled as suicide from an intentional overdose. Golitsyn had repeatedly expressed personal doubts over the findings of the investigation into Arkady’s death.

See alsoPermalink

• Pokrov
• Assassination of Xu Shaoyong and Yuri Golitsyn

ReferencesPermalink