Squeezed by Sanctions, Some Oligarchs Are Heading Home to Putin’s Russia
Putin’s war in Ukraine is leaving billionaires who sought to integrate with the West to face the reality of international isolation.
A concert dedicated to the first anniversary of the annexation of Ukraine regions; Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, by Russian troops, at Red Square in Moscow, on Sept. 29.
Photographer: Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images
Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven epitomized the Russian oligarchs who used their fortunes to integrate into the global economy and shake off association with President Vladimir Putin’s regime. Now the wheel of fortune is turning full circle.
Fridman has fled to Moscow from London via Israel, bitterly unhappy with life as a sanctioned businessman in Britain since Putin ordered Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Aven may also have to weigh a return to Russia from Latvia, where authorities are threatening to revoke his passport.