Amid the ongoing conflict with Ukraine, Russia has seen the number of billionaires reach record levels. Yet over Vladimir Putin’s 25-year rule, the country’s oligarchs have largely lost their political influence.
This concentration of power benefits Putin. Western sanctions have not swayed the ultra-rich into opposition, while his combination of incentives and pressure ensures their quiet support.
Oleg Tinkov, a former banking billionaire, experienced this pressure firsthand. After publicly criticizing the war as “crazy,” the Kremlin warned that his Tinkoff Bank would be nationalized unless he severed all connections to the institution. The bank was sold within a week for just 3% of its estimated value, leaving Tinkov with losses approaching $9 billion and prompting his departure from Russia.
The situation contrasts sharply with the post-Soviet era, when Russian oligarchs gained enormous wealth and political influence by acquiring state enterprises during the 1990s. Figures like Boris Berezovsky even claimed to have helped Putin rise to power. However, Berezovsky later fell out of favor, went into exile in the UK, and died under mysterious circumstances in 2013.
During the early days of the Ukraine war, Putin summoned Russia’s wealthiest to the Kremlin, leaving little room for dissent despite looming financial losses. Forbes reported that from April 2021 to April 2022, the number of Russian billionaires dropped from 117 to 83, with an average wealth loss of 27%. Yet in the following years, being aligned with the Kremlin proved lucrative. By 2024, Russia had 140 billionaires, their combined wealth nearing pre-war highs.
Many of these billionaires either directly benefited from defense contracts or maintained close ties with the government, reinforcing their dependence on Putin’s policies. Those who resisted, such as Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who spent 10 years in jail after opposing Kremlin control, faced severe consequences.
Western sanctions intended to weaken Russia’s wealthy elite have largely failed. Freezing assets and seizing property made it impossible for most billionaires to defect. Instead, the departure of foreign companies created opportunities for Kremlin-aligned businessmen to acquire profitable assets, forming a new class of loyal and influential billionaires.
Experts note that these fortunes now depend on ongoing tension with the West, with their main concern being the potential return of previous owners. In 2024 alone, 11 new billionaires emerged through this dynamic, underscoring how Putin has maintained firm control over Russia’s economic and political elite despite sanctions and war.
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