Hit By Sanctions, Russian Oligarchs, Once Close To Putin Are Opposing The War In Ukraine

¡°Peace is very important!¡± Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska said in a social media post on Sunday. ¡°Negotiations need to start as soon as possible!¡± he wrote further amid what is now becoming a loud and clear message from the rich and powerful of Russia.

"It is necessary to change the economic policy, it is necessary to end all this state capitalism," Deripaska said on messaging app Telegram, demanding "explanations" from officials on what was going to happen to the economy in the next three months.

AFP

"If this is a real crisis then we need real crisis managers and not fantasists with a bunch of silly presentations," said the 54-year-old who was once the richest man in Russia.

"Unlike in 2014, it will not be possible to sit this out now," Deripaska said, referring to Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula and the subsequent introduction of Western sanctions.

Deripaska is one of the several Russian oligarchs who seems to have had enough of the international sanctions.

Another Russian oligarch, Mikhail Fridman too has thrown his weight advocating for peace.

AP

Fridman, who is one of Russia¡¯s richest men, controls private equity firm LetterOne and was a founder of Alfa Bank, Russia¡¯s largest private bank, which is one of the several financial institutions removed from SWIF.

¡°I was born in Western Ukraine and lived there until I was 17. My parents are Ukrainian citizens and live in Lviv, my favorite city,¡± Fridman wrote in the letter, excerpts of which Reuters saw.

¡°But I have also spent much of my life as a citizen of Russia, building and growing businesses. I am deeply attached to the Ukrainian and Russian peoples and see the current conflict as a tragedy for them both.¡±

Fridman was ranked as the 128th richest person in the world in 2021, according to the publication Forbes¡¯ world billionaire list.

Reuters

Some of the richest men in Russia speaking up in favour of peace, and indirectly blaming Putin for the current crisis is somewhat unprecedented in the country, given how close these men are to the Russian President.

But the latest round of punishing sanctions seems to have made at least some of them rethink.

Recently, Russian billionaire businessman Roman Abramovich, who owns the English Premier League football club Chelsea, had accepted a Ukrainian request to help negotiate an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Abramovich was asked by Ukraine to help mediate because of his background in Russia.

AFP

Abramovich, who is Jewish and has Israeli citizenship, was one of the most powerful businessmen who earned fabulous fortunes after the 1991 break-up of the Soviet Union.

Under President Vladimir Putin, Abramovich served as governor of the remote Arctic region of Chukotka in Russia¡¯s far East.

He had recently announced that he was giving trustees of Chelsea stewardship of the club.

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