Russian oligarchs trade in their wives

A new best-seller warns that landing one of Moscow's wealthiest men can end in misery

A Marriage Contract offers a depressing glimpse into the gilded world of a group of fabulously wealthy Russians who have come to be known as the "Rublevka set". Rublevka is the name of an ultra-exclusive avenue in Moscow's western suburbs where many of Russia's political and business elite live out their privileged existences in luxury mansions, surrounded by heavily guarded walls.

The book's author, Tatyana Ogorodnikova, is herself a paid-up member of the Rublevka set, although her marriage to a wealthy businessman is said to be stable, unlike those in her semi-fictional book. Despite that, she says, she has a marriage contract with her husband, "just in case", and advises her readers to do the same if they want to avoid the miserable fate of many of her characters.

Ms Ogorodnikova is not the first oligarch's wife to reveal what goes on in many a gilded Moscow cage. Oksana Robsky, a Rublevka resident whose second husband was gunned down in a contract killing, has written several best-selling "kiss and tell" books.

Ms Ogorodnikova says her book is a "manual" for girls hoping to snag an oligarch and live happily ever after. Many of her heroines, said to be based on friends and acquaintances, achieve their first ambition but not the second. Instead, they find themselves cheated on by their husbands before being dumped for younger women, cast aside with miserly divorce settlements and the responsibility of bringing up the children.

"One Rublevka woman really loved her oligarch husband," she writes. "They lived together for 15 years, and then he threw her and their three children out on the streets."

According to Ms Ogorodnikova's book, which her publishers say is selling fast, tolerating infidelity is part of the experience of being married to an oligarch, with many men maintaining multiple mistresses and ordering glamorous prostitutes like takeaway pizza.

Russian TV is packed with documentaries offering viewers a glimpse into the lives of the rich and famous. There was even a reality show which gave viewers tips on how to live like an oligarch's wife - such as dyeing your poodle the same colour as your designer handbag.