K.S. Shamilov

Kirill (Cyril) Shamilov, or K.S. Shamilov as he is more commonly known, is a Tatar emigrant to Lovia. He resides in Old Port, Newhaven, where he runs the newspaper 'The Newhaven Mercury'

Early life
Shamilov was born in 1952 in Kazan, Russia. Although ethnically a Tatar, he grew up bilingual, speaking both Russian and Tatar.

Career
Although he began a course in chemistry at Moscow, he never took a degree and instead became a businessman. He set up a company making children's toys and invested the profit into oil company Surgutgaz. Both ventures did phenomenally well and by the age of 35 Shamilov had taken complete control of Surgutgaz.

Life in Lovia
In 1998 Shamilov decided to retire, having since become a multi-millionaire. His chosen destination was the New World, but due to his dislike of American culture (shared by many older Russians) he eventually settled in Lovia, purchasing a large property at 1 Forest Street, Old Port.

Shamilov quickly became well known in Newhaven. This was partly due to his ownership of the Newhaven Mercury, which he purchased on arrival in 2001 and expanded greatly, and also due to his eccentricity. For instance, it was not unusual for him to throw huge parties (or toys as they were called in Tatar) for Tatar friends of his. (Later, the Forest Street Toy would become quite a social event in Newhaven). At such times tourists to Newhaven would often become confused by the sight of yurts incongruosly dotted around in one of the oldest neighborhoods of Lovia. It was also common to see him shuffling in shabby clothes to the nearby Lizard, smiling toothlessly at passers-by.

He was also well-known for the very ambitious projects that he periodically dreamed up; for instance, his plan for encouraging Russian immigrants to settle in Newhaven, paying for their plane tickets and passports. In fact, he managed to convince a 200 strong community to settle in Newhaven, split fairly evenly between Tatars and Russians. He also built the first mosque ever seen in Lovia for their use, and a Russian Orthodox Church. He himself is Muslim.