The West’s massive sanctions against Russia because of the Ukraine war are clearly having an effect: a number of the most influential Russian entrepreneurs are taking a clear stance against Putin’s actions.
Putin’s backing in his own country is apparently dwindling. After Russian troops invaded Ukraine, several oligarchs have criticized the Kremlin’s actions.
Billionaire Oleg Deripaska called on Monday for an end to “state capitalism” in Russia in view of the economic sanctions imposed on Moscow. “This is a real crisis and we need real crisis managers,” said the founder of the aluminum company Rusal on Telegram. “We absolutely have to change economic policies and end all this state capitalism,” he added. The government cannot “just wait and see,” said Deripaska. He expects “clarifications” from the Kremlin on “economic policy in the next three months”.
Russian oligarch calls Ukraine war ‘unthinkable and unacceptable’
In Russia, the business elite rarely criticize the government. However, since the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, several Russian oligarchs have opposed President Vladimir Putin’s actions.
Russian billionaire Oleg Tinkov, founder of Tinkoff Bank, criticized the attack on Ukraine in a post on Instagram Monday. “Innocent people are dying every day in Ukraine today, it’s unthinkable and unacceptable,” he said. Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman also said on Sunday that “war can never be the answer.” In a letter to the employees of his investment company LetterOne, the native Ukrainian called for an end to the “bloodshed,” according to the company.
In an open letter to Putin published on Monday, media mogul Evgeny Lebedev wrote: “As a citizen of Russia, I ask you to end the state of affairs in which Russians are killing their Ukrainian brothers and sisters.” Lebedev, who also has British citizenship and is a member of the British House of Lords, published the open letter in the London Evening Standard newspaper, which he owns. Europe is “on the brink of another world war” and the world is facing a “possible nuclear catastrophe,” he warned. Putin must use the current negotiations with Kiev officials to “end this terrible war in Ukraine”. “As a British citizen, I call on you to protect Europe from this war,” Lebedev wrote. “As a Russian patriot, I ask you to prevent the needless deaths of more young Russian soldiers. As a citizen of the world, I call on you to protect the world from annihilation.”
One of Russia’s richest men, oligarch Roman Abramovich, has been asked for help by the Ukrainian side, according to a spokeswoman. He was contacted “to help find a solution and is now trying to help,” spokeswoman Rola Brentlin said.
Tough sanctions against Russia
The EU countries, the USA, Canada, Japan and other western allies have decided on a whole series of extremely tough sanctions against Russia because of the attack on Ukraine. These include an exclusion of important Russian banks from the international payment system Swift, the blocking of transactions by the Russian central bank to support the Russian currency and export bans on high-tech goods. The punitive measures are also aimed at oligarchs and their assets.
Meanwhile, Putin launched a new rhetorical blow against the West. At a meeting attended by, among others, Russia’s central bank head Elvira Nabiullina and Sberbank boss German Gref, Putin described the western countries as an “empire of lies” that wanted to “implement sanctions against our country”.
Source: Stern
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