Career
In 1989 Tarasov became the first officially declared millionaire in the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics. Tarasov is a descendent of the well-known family of Armenian traders. He had a successful career as a scientific manager. Then he founded his next successful co-operative, Technika.
After a conflict with Soviet officials in 1990, he left the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics, and settled in London.
In 1993 he returned to Russia, and was elected to the Russian Duma once again. In 1996 he decided to run for President as an independent pro-business candidate, but his application was rejected by the electoral commission.
By the late 2000s Tarasov was spending most of his time in London, writing books of which his biography "The Millionaire" is the most prominent.