The impact of sanctions has fluctuated in the business and sports world, as members of Putin’s inner circle have frozen their assets. Here is a look at some of the oligarchs near the Kremlin who have commented on the war and those who have remained silent.
Oleg Deripaska
Oleg Deripaska, a close ally of Putin who made his fortune in the aluminum business, was sanctioned on March 10 by the British government, which noted Deripaska’s estimated 2 2 billion fortune and shares in En + Group, a major energy and owner. one of the largest producers of aluminum in the world. Shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Deripaska told the Telegram messaging app: “Peace is very important! Negotiations must begin as soon as possible!” As the ruble collapsed and the Russian stock market failed to open for trading, Deripaska said he wanted “clarifications and understandable comments on economic policy for the next three months”, adding that the central bank’s decision to raise interest rates dramatically force companies to sell The foreign currency was the “first test of who will really pay for this banquet.” Deripaska had previously been sanctioned by the US in 2018 in response to the Russian conclusion in the 2016 elections. The US investigated him for money laundering and accused him of “threatening the lives of business opponents, illegally watching a government official and participating in blackmail “, according to the Ministry of Finance, which added:” Deripaska said he was doing it. it is not separated from the Russian state “.
Michael Friedman
Mikhail Fridman, president of the Alfa Group, has a net worth of $ 11.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index. It was recently sanctioned by the European Union, which said it had “developed strong ties with Vladimir Putin’s government and has been cited as a leading Russian financier and aide to Putin’s inner circle”. Born in western Ukraine, he wrote in a letter to staff a few days after the invasion that he wanted the bloodshed to end. “My parents are Ukrainian citizens and they live in Lviv, my favorite city. But I have spent much of my life as a Russian citizen, building and growing businesses. I am deeply connected to the Ukrainian and Russian people and I see the current conflict. “as a tragedy for both of them,” Fridman wrote. “This crisis will cost lives and hurt two nations that have been brothers for hundreds of years. While a solution seems terribly distant, I can only join those whose fervent desire is to end the bloodshed,” she added. provided by his office. The Financial Times was the first to mention the letter. Friedman called the violence a “tragedy”, adding that “war can never be the answer” – but did not directly criticize Putin. “If I make any political statement that is unacceptable in Russia, it will have very clear implications for the company, for our customers, for our creditors, for our shareholders,” Fridman said.
Roman Abramovich
Another oligarch who expressed public frustration with the crisis but failed to criticize Russia is Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea’s Premier League team, who moved to sell the team amid his own sanctions. Abramovich “is one of the few oligarchs in the 1990s who held a prominent position under Putin,” according to the United Kingdom, but he has always denied such a relationship. Prior to the March 10 UK sanctions, Abramovich said his net proceeds from the sale of the club would be used to set up a charity “for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine”. The European Union (EU) imposed sanctions on Abramovich last week, citing his “long-standing and close ties to Vladimir Putin” and saying his “privileged access” to the presidency had helped him “maintain his considerable wealth”.
The remarkable oligarchs remained silent
Many of Putin’s allies and close associates have not commented publicly on the war, possibly underscoring Fridman’s statements that questioning the Russian leader has consequences. Western sanctions against Russian government officials and leaders continue to rise, including against:
Igor Sechin, CEO of energy company Rosneft – a Sechin-owned superyacht recently confiscated, according to the French Ministry of Finance. Andrey Kostin, President of VTB Bank. Alexei Miller, CEO of energy company Gazprom. Sergey Chemezov, head of the state defense company Rostec. Igor Shuvalov, Chairman of Vnesheconombank. Nikolai Tokarev, chairman of the Russian state-owned pipeline company Transneft. Gennady Timchenko, founder and owner of the Volga Group – an investment company with a large stake in Russian gas company Novatek. Arkady Rotenberg, owner of Mostotrest, the Russian construction company that helped build a bridge connecting the Crimean peninsula with Russia. The Rothenburgs are close friends of Putin.
All of them remained publicly silent about the war. CNN contacted each person for comments.
The Russian elite speaks openly
Comments from other high-profile figures, however, indicate that the disapproval of the war could be deep within the nation’s elite. Evgeny Lebedev – the son of Alexander Lebedev, who describes himself as a former oligarch – wrote a public statement to Putin to the British newspaper Evening Standard, to which he belongs. “As a Russian citizen, please stop the Russians from killing their Ukrainian brothers and sisters,” Lebedev said. “As a British citizen I ask you to save Europe from war. As a Russian patriot I ask you to prevent other young Russian soldiers from dying unnecessarily. As a citizen of the world I ask you to save the world from extinction,” he added. Vladimir Potanin, the country’s richest businessman and chairman of metal giant Norilsk Nickel, begged Russia not to take the assets of Western companies leaving the country. “Such a step – global distrust of investors on the part of Russia – would be experienced for many decades,” he said in a message posted on Norilsk Nickel’s Telegram account last week. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov was sanctioned by the US government on March 3 for being the “main propagandist” of the Russian Federation. On Friday, Peshkov’s wife and two of his adult children – including daughter Elisabeth Peskova – also received US sanctions. Peskova, who has more than 180,000 followers on Instagram, shared an anti-war message on her verified account the day after the invasion began, posting the hashtag # нетвойне, meaning “no to war”. A few hours later the message was deleted. CNN’s Charles Riley, Evan Perez, Emiko Jozuka, Niamh Kennedy, George Ramsay, Vasco Cotovio, Nathan Hodge, Mike Callahan, Maria Angelova, Mariya Knight and Anna Chernova contributed to this report.
