Business oligarch is a near-synonym of the term "business magnate", borrowed by the English speaking and western media from post-Soviet parlance to describe the huge, fast-acquired wealth of some businessmen of the former Soviet republics (mostly Russia and Ukraine) during the privatization in Russia and other post-Soviet states in 1990s. The history of the business oligarchs in post Soviet Union states is discussed in the following articles relating to specific regions of the former Soviet Union: