MOSCOW--Mikhail Kravchenko, a 46-year-old self-made furniture multi-millionaire, was buried by his parents Galina and Vyacheslav here May 23 after being gunned down in a mob style hit near his home in the upscale suburb of Peredelkino early Sunday morning, May 20.

Kravchenko, known as ‘Misha’ to his friends, was the owner of 250 Marta 8 furniture factory stores in Russia which reportedly turned over an estimated $200 million in annual revenues. His suppliers are still very much in shock over the way he was killed and do not know what the future holds for the Russian fabric business, especially for those who supplied 8 Marta factories. Executives of 8 Marta have no idea why he was murdered according to the consumer press which covered this tragedy. A number of important Russian fabric wholesalers supplied 8 Marta with imported fabrics from Europe and the USA.

Misha was born in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, attended Moscow University and also set up a private school in Moscow. His wife and five year old daughter were tragically killed in an automobile accident in 2001. At the time of his death, he was a bachelor and had been known to be mingling with English Royals. He was also known to be a writer, photographer, sportsman and poet. The easy going Misha seemed to be well liked by his friends and peers but some say that jealous rivals are to blame for his death.

The police are investigating his murder. Nobody really knows why he was assassinated but some feel it was business related.