Russian billionaires are starting to leave Vladimir Putin

Russia's business and political elites are against the invasion of Ukraine. This is an extremely rare display of opposition to Kremlin policy, notes the Moscow Times. Among Putin's critics, there are many Russian oligarchs who until recently supported him.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced on Sunday in the Bundestag that Russian banks will not only be disconnected from the SWIFT system but will also be ejected from the European Union. Not only that, the billions of euros in the assets of the Russian oligarchs will be seized, so immediately there were criticisms of Russian oligarchs who oppose the war in Ukraine.

In the terrorized, bribed and propaganda-laden Russia of Putin, every, even the smallest, criticism of the government is treated as an attack on Putin, whom he identifies with Russia. Anyone who criticizes the authority and its decisions have problems. Those most involved in civil society and attempts to democratize Russia end up in labor camps. Many oppositionists were killed. Despite this, two of the most powerful Russian oligarchs spoke out against their own country's aggression in Ukraine. Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska even said it was time to end "state capitalism" in Russia. According to the Moscow Times, on Sunday, the co-founder of Alfa Bank, Mikhail Fridman, whose parents live in Lviv, Ukraine, called the war in Ukraine "a tragedy" and said that the bloodshed should be stopped as soon as possible.

The statements of the business magnates are accompanied by other signals from the Russian political elite. Tatiana Yumashev, daughter of Putin's predecessor Boris Yeltsin and the driving force behind his 1999 presidential nomination, joined celebrities, artists, and ordinary Russians by turning her Facebook profile picture black square by signing it "No for War". She was joined by several other people, including the daughter of the oligarch Roman Abramovich, son-in-law of defense minister Sergei Shoygu, and the son of the head of RosTech and longtime friend of Putin, Sergei Chemezov.

(bizblog)