(For other news from the Reuters Russia Summit, click on http://www.reuters.com/summit/RussiaInvestment10) (For the main story on Chubais, please click on)
MOSCOW, Sept 16 (Reuters) - One of the architects of Russia's chaotic transition to capitalism, Anatoly Chubais is bidding to remodel the economy once again with $10 billion in state cash to foster high-technology companies.
A stocky, ginger-haired economist, Chubais, 55, is still widely blamed in Russia for exacerbating the economic collapse of the early 1990s by allowing a small group of tycoons to enrich themselves in a wave of privatisations.
But he remains a hero for some economic liberals and Western investors, and his reputation as a formidable manager has secured him key posts in Russia's state-backed corporate giants.
He liberalised Russia's electricity market during a decade in charge of state power monopoly UES, and is now helping to spearhead President Dmitry Medvedev's modernisation drive as head of the specially created nanotechnology firm Rosnano.
Born in Belarus into an army family, Chubais kicked off his political career in Russia's second city of St Petersburg -- the home town of many within the Russian elite, including Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Chubais emerged at the forefront of Russia's reform movement under Boris Yeltsin as one of a team of young intellectuals who came to power of what they said in 1991 was a bankrupt state.
During Yeltsin's presidency, Chubais masterminded and oversaw the so-called "sale of the century", in which thousands of state-run firms were sold off to a handful of oligarchs.
While some Western liberals credit the reforms with laying the foundation of Russia's post-Soviet revival, critics say Chubais helped discredit democracy in Russia by leaving millions in poverty while a few tycoons won fabulous fortunes.
Chubais led Yeltsin's successful election campaign in 1996 and then helped run the country as Kremlin chief of staff while Yeltsin underwent heart bypass surgery.
He was made Russia's main negotiator with the International Monetary Fund just before the 1998 economic crisis crippled the economy.
After the crash, he spent 10 years orchestrating the liberalisation of Russia's electricity sector as head of power monopoly UES.
When UES ceased to exist in 2008, its assets sold or spun off, Chubais was appointed to the helm of Rosnano, one of several organisations created by former President Putin to jump-start investment in high-technology companies.
Rosnano, which involves technology that handles substances at a nano level, or a scale of about one billionth of a metre, has received $10 billion from the state. (Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Hans Peters) (conor.humphries@thomsonreuters.com; +7495-7751242)