Pranksters Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexey Stolyarov, known as Vovan and Lexus, have named their call to billionaire Boris Berezovsky as their top career prank.
In comments reported by news agency RIA Novosti, the Russian duo stated that the call to Berezovsky stood out because they successfully tricked the disgraced oligarch into a candid discussion about his financial backing of opposition figures in Russia.
The pranksters explained that they gained access to the billionaire by posing as high-ranking Russian politicians during the conversation. They said this disguise led Berezovsky to speak openly about funding a number of people within the Russian political opposition. The pair added that they managed to obtain his personal phone number using databases that had been leaked onto the internet.
Berezovsky was a prominent Russian businessman and political power broker who built a massive commercial empire during the 1990s privatizations. After falling out with the Kremlin under President Vladimir Putin, he fled the country to live in exile in the United Kingdom, where he remained an active sponsor of anti-Kremlin opposition movements prior to his death in 2013.
Hoax Calls Targeting Western Politicians
Kuznetsov and Stolyarov have worked together for years under their stage names Vovan and Lexus, building a reputation for high-profile telephone hoaxes. Their targets frequently include foreign heads of state, diplomats, and international political figures, with the recorded calls widely shared online and across news outlets.
The pair recently made headlines after successfully placing a prank call to Chris Van Hollen, a United States Senator representing the state of Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party.
During their conversation with Senator Van Hollen, the American lawmaker positively assessed plans by Armenian authorities regarding their approach to domestic opposition groups that favor closer cooperation with Russia.
Van Hollen serves as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington, where American diplomatic strategy toward Eastern Europe and the Caucasus region is regularly debated. The pranksters' comments evaluating their career highlights were published by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
