Russian oligarchs bear the brunt of Ukraine invasion

The US and European Union have put sanctions on certain Russian oligarchs following the invasion of Ukraine. The US Department of Treasury said that elites close to Russian President Vladimir Putin leveraged their proximity with the leader to pillage the Russian state, enrich themselves and elevate their family members to positions of power.

"Sanctioned oligarchs and powerful Russian elites have used family members to move assets and to conceal their immense wealth,” it said.

The Treasury Secretary added that the sanctions were aimed to "degrade Russia’s ability to project power and threaten the peace and stability of Europe". 
 

Additionally, the EU added that the listings include oligarchs and businessmen active in the oil, banking, finance sectors, as well as government members, high-level military people, and "propagandists who contributed to spreading anti-Ukrainian propaganda”. 

Who are the oligarchs? 

The Russian oligarchs are business magnates who control sufficient resources to influence politics. The Russian oligarchs amassed wealth during the privatisation phase after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. 

The term 'oligarchy’ comes from the Ancient Greek world ‘oligarkhia’, which meant "the rule of the few".

A weakening state left open the ownership of state assets that allowed many informal deals with former USSR officials. The first batch of modern oligarchs emerged under Mikhail Gorbachev during the market liberalisation and his policies of Glasnost and Perestroika. 

Some of the prominent oligarchs from Putin era include Oleg Deripaska, Mikhail Fridman, Roman Abramovich, Alexander Abramov, Vagit Alekperov, Mikhail Prokhorov, Alisher Usmanov, Leonid Mikhelson, German Khan, Viktor Vekselberg, Dmitry Rybolovlev, Vladimir Potanin, Pyotr Aven, and Vitaly Malkin. 

Also read: Russia waging war in violation of humanitarian law, says Ukraine

The oligarchs

Roman Abramovich

The Russian oligarch, billionaire businessman, and politician was a confidante of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin and current President Vladimir Putin. The former Governor of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug is more famously known as the owner of the British football club Chelsea. 

Although no sanctions have been imposed against him so far, he and the other Russian oligarchs came in for criticism after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Over the weekend, he handed the stewardship of the Chelsea club to its charity foundation.  

Ukraine has asked Abramovich to help in the peace talks, his spokesperson said. The spokesperson said that the billionaire has been trying to help ever since he was contacted. 

Igor Sechin

Considered a close ally of Putin, Sechin is the CEO of state oil company Rosneft. Sechin is a linguist — fluent in Portuguese and French. He is considered to be one of Putin’s counsellors. The EU put sanctions on the oligarch after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. 

Also read: Ukraine crisis: EU sanctions Kremlin spokesperson, oligarchs, journos

Alisher Usmanov

Usmanov is the co-owner of Russia's second-largest mobile telephone operator, MegaFon. The billionaire is a majority shareholder of industrial conglomerate Metalloinvest. Following the fall of the Soviet Union, Usmanov made a fortune through metal and mining operations. He also owns a publishing house. He is also known for his philanthropist work. The EU put sanctions on him after the Ukraine invasion. 

Petr Aven

Aven is an oligarch, an economist, a politician and a businessman. He is the head of Russia’s largest commercial bank, Alfa Bank. The EU blacklisted the billionaire and froze all his assets. 

Alexander Ponomarenko

Ponomarenko made his fortune in banking, seaports, commercial real estate and airport construction. The billionaire businessman’s assets were frozen by the EU and he was blacklisted. 

Mikhail Fridman

Fridman is a Ukraine-born Russian businessman. He co-founded the Alfa Group, a Russian multinational conglomerate. He also co-founded Alfa Bank. Fridman is also a member of public organisations such as the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the Public Chamber of Russia, and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Fridman is one of the two billionaires who called for peace amid the invasion. He called the war a tragedy for both Russia and Ukraine, however, the EU put sanctions on him.

Also read: Ukraine invasion: Indian Embassy advises students to leave Kyiv urgently

Sergei Sergeevich Ivanov

Sergei Sergeevich Ivanov is the son of Sergei Borisovich Ivanov, a senior Russian official and politician who is known to be one of Putin’s closest allies. He is the CEO of the state-owned diamond mining company Alrosa as well as a board member of Gazprombank. The US imposed sanctions on him. 

His father has held several important posts such as defence minister, deputy prime minister and is known to have served in the Soviet KGB and its successor, Federal Security Service, where he is the colonel general. 

Andrey Patrushev

Patrushev serves in a leadership position at Gazprom Neft, a leading oil producer in Russia. Following the Ukraine invasion, the US put sanctions on him. His father, Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev had served in the KGB with Putin, and subsequently headed the Federal Security Service. He faces sanctions from the US.

Alexander Aleksandrovich Vedyakhin

Vedyakhin is the first deputy chairman of the executive board of Sberbank, Russia’s largest financial institution. The bank also faced sanctions this week, along with Vedyakhin, following Ukraine’s invasion. 

Andrey Sergeyevich Puchkov

Puchkov is a high-ranking executive at the VTB Bank, Russia’s second-largest financial institution. Puchkov and VTB were sanctioned this week by the US. 

Yuriy Alekseyevich Soloviev

Soloviev had previously worked at Lehman Brothers and Deutsch Bank in London. He is currently a VTB Bank executive. The US imposed sanctions on Soloviev and his wife Galina Olegovna Ulyutina, who was previously implicated in the golden passport scheme that allowed wealthy foreigners to gain citizenship in exchange for small investments in some countries. 

Alexei Mordashov

Mordashov is a Russian billionaire businessman, who is the main shareholder and chairman of Russian conglomerate Severstal. The EU blacklisted Mordashov and had his assets frozen. 

Nikolai Tokarev

Tokarev is a Russian businessman who is the president of the Russian pipeline company Transneft. He has also been on the board of directors for Rosneft. His assets were frozen and he was blacklisted by the EU. 

(With inputs from Reuters, NBC News)

Also read: What is a ‘vacuum bomb’ that Ukraine says Russia is using?

Also read: Ukrainians are making Molotov cocktails; here’s why