Leonid "Lyonya" Golubkov

In the 1990s, Russia was in a state of economic chaos. The government was struggling to keep up with the demands of the people, and many people were looking for ways to make money. One of the most popular ways to make money was to invest in MMM, a Ponzi scheme that promised investors huge returns. MMM was run by Sergei Mavrodi, a charismatic and persuasive businessman who convinced people that they could get rich quick by investing in his company. MMM's commercials were everywhere. They featured a character named Lyonya Golubkov, a "common Russian guy" who had invested in MMM and become rich. Lyonya's catch phrase was "Это просто, ё-моё," which roughly translates to "This is damn simple." MMM's commercials were so effective that they convinced millions of people to invest in the company. However, in 1994, MMM collapsed and its investors lost everything. After the collapse of MMM, Lyonya Golubkov became a symbol of the greed and corruption that had taken hold of Russia in the 1990s. However, Permyakov, the actor who played Lyonya, has since managed to rebuild his career