Putin’s Ukraine Gambit Hurts Economy as Allies Lose Billions

President Vladimir Putin’s brinkmanship in Ukraine has already cost some of his closest comrades billions of dollars. The other 144 million Russians may also pay a price.

Putin’s troop buildup in Crimea triggered the biggest stock selloff in five years on March 3. It also pulled the ruble to a record low, prompting the central bank to raise interest rates the most since 1998, when a cash-strapped government stumbled toward default. Longtime Putin ally Gennady Timchenko and his partner Leonid Mikhelson lost a combined $3.2 billion of their wealth after their gas producer OAO Novatek tumbled 18 percent.