Among the phenomena of the period of the collapse of the CSFR, besides the return of many managers of foreign trade companies from their stations, there was also the return of elite managers educated at Russian schools. Often these were family members of prominent members of the regime.
Probably the most famous are the graduates of the Moscow Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). It was a highly qualified course that offered students not only languages, basic economic sciences or diplomatic knowledge, but also knowledge in the field of espionage. Much of the curriculum was similar to the training received by members of the secret services. Thanks to their studies at MGIMO, key figures of the Penta Group, such as Jaroslav Hascak, Jozef Oravkin and Marek Dospiva, acquired such basics of espionage. Other students of the institute include economist Peter Chrenko, who later became a partner of the well-known financial consulting group Ernst & Young Slovakia and deputy at the Ministry of Finance, businessman Miloš Červenka, EU Commissioner Štefan Füle, Bratislava boss Miroslav Sýkora, and Slovak foreign ministers Eduard Kukan, Ján Kubiš and Miroslav Lajčák. Every year, the Russian Embassy in Prague hosts MGIMO alumni parties, which are regularly attended by around 300 people. It is well known that not only MGIMO, but also other connections of foreign graduates and managers have been used by the Russian secret services to recruit collaborators or agents in these circles. Martin Nejedlý, a controversial businessman and long-time advisor to Miloš Zeman, also worked in Moscow for a long time.
