See Putin does it and it is totally justified, “when we do it, it is bad” says the Putin fan.
This is fun!
Posted on 04/29/2022 8:03:49 AM PDT by dennisw
In the two months since Russia invaded Ukraine, the silence — and even acquiescence — of the Russian elite has started to fray. Even as opinion polls report overwhelming public support for the military campaign, amid pervasive state propaganda and new laws outlawing criticism of the war, cracks are starting to show. The dividing lines among factions of the Russian economic elite are becoming more marked, and some of the tycoons — especially those who made their fortunes before President Vladimir Putin came to power — have begun, tentatively, to speak.
For many, the most immediate focus has been their own woes. Sweeping sanctions imposed by the West have brought down a new iron curtain on the Russian economy, freezing tens of billions of dollars of many of the tycoons’ assets along the way. “In one day, they destroyed what was built over many years. It’s a catastrophe,” said one businessman who was summoned along with many of the country’s other richest men to meet Putin on the day of the invasion.
The White House further turned the screws on the oligarchs Thursday, announcing a proposal to liquidate their assets and donate the proceeds to Ukraine.
At least four oligarchs who made it big in the more liberal era of Putin’s predecessor, President Boris Yeltsin, have left Russia. At least four senior officials have resigned their posts and departed the country, the highest ranking among them being Anatoly Chubais, the Kremlin special envoy for sustainable development and Yeltsin-era privatization czar.
But those in top positions vital to the continued running of the country remain — some trapped, unable to leave even if they wanted to. Most notably, Russia’s mild-mannered and highly regarded central bank chief, Elvira Nabiullina, tendered her resignation after the imposition of Western sanctions,
(Excerpt) Read more at archive.ph ...
Elvira Nabiullina, tendered her resignation after the imposition of Western sanctions, but Putin refused to let her step down, according to five people familiar with the situation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with central bank chief Elvira Nabiullina at the Kremlin in 2017. (Aleksey Nikolskyi/AFP/Getty Images)
In interviews, several Russian billionaires, senior bankers, a senior official and former officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, described how they and others had been blindsided by their increasingly isolated president and feel largely impotent to influence him because his inner circle is dominated by a handful of hard-line security officials.
The complaints aired in public so far are mostly muted and focused primarily on the government’s proposed economic response to the sanctions imposed on Russia by the West. No one has directly criticized Putin.
Vladimir Lisin, a steel magnate who made his fortune in the Yeltsin years, slammed a proposal in the Russian parliament to counter sanctions by forcing foreign buyers to pay in rubles for a list of commodities beyond gas. In an interview with a Moscow newspaper, he said the measure risked undermining export markets that Russia “fought for for decades,” warning that “a transfer to payments in rubles will just lead to us being thrown out of international markets.”
Vladimir Potanin, the owner of the Norilsk Nickel metals plant who was an architect of Russia’s privatizations in the 1990s, warned that proposals to confiscate the assets of foreign companies that exited Russia in the wake of the war would destroy investor confidence and throw the country back to the revolution of 1917.
“new [Russian] laws outlawing criticism of the war”
That’s nothing! We have our own government standing up the ‘Disinformation Governance Board.’
Yes lets bring in Bezo’s rag as 100% truth. Does it ever make any of you warmongers think about the far left sources you use to prove you know what is going on?
Biden’s war has you totally enthralled.
The WaPoo has been a constant source of real disinformation for a long time. Now it is go to for Biden’s warmongers. LOL
The Washington Compost never spews feral government propaganda.
See Putin does it and it is bad, “when we do it, it is totally justified” says the neocon.
Glad you pointed out the hypocrisy.
As the old saying goes, “the Devil sometimes speaks the truth.” And — call me a warmonger if you like for saying so — but history provides abundant examples of political leaders becoming unpopular when a war they began goes badly. Is it so surprising that elite grumbling is beginning against Putin?
The only warmongers are the Russians. They started this war and they can end it by going home.
Unlike Ukraine (or the United States), oligarchs in Russia are forbidden to engage in politics. They are outside the circle of Kremlin decision makers by design and therefore unable to exert influence on the decision making.
1984 all over again...
Yet, while China appears to be a full-on Russian ally, more quietly it’s doing what benefits it most, and in some cases that includes distancing itself from Russia’s sanction-suffering economy
UnionPay, the Chinese state-led financial services network that would have been the ideal replacement for Western Visa and Mastercard, which have both suspended operations in Russia, has reportedly decided not to cooperate with Russian banks.
According to Russian media, UnionPay has refused to cooperate with Russia’s biggest lender, Sberbank, out of concern over secondary sanctions.
UnionPay also suspended negotiations with other banks, including Russia’s largest private lender, Alfa Bank, and VTB.
https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/International/Is-China-Finally-Distancing-Itself-From-Russia.html
LOL!
Just turn it around and it makes just as much sense:
See Putin does it and it is totally justified, “when we do it, it is bad” says the Putin fan.
See Putin does it and it is totally justified, “when we do it, it is bad” says the Putin fan.
This is fun!
Poontang has the answer to that ... just nuke any country that won't pay in rubles.
REEEEE!!! Mother Russia is strong! Mother Russia will never be defeated by yankee scum! REEEEEE!!!!
WaPo propaganda.. wow
you have really soiled yourself again
Do ya think anyone believes this crap?
LOL. Imagine American public opinion if we were told Jeff Bezos, Bob Iger, Jack Dorsey or Bill Gates didn’t like something the government did.
We would say F.O.A.D.
WaPo is the voice of the CIA, and their previous means to have influence and control over Russia was through its oligarchs, who the Russian people believe have run roughshod over the country.
https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/International/Is-China-Finally-Distancing-Itself-From-Russia.html
Very revealing link there how US + European sanctions are beginning to bite in Pooty’s Russia. How China is screwing the Russskies too, to avoid sanctions. The Chinese credit card operation would have been very helpful for average Russians to make payments. Perhaps they must walk around with a stack of paper rubles these days.
Whatever the Washington Post is, this Russian tycoon report is neutral. I don’t see much bias or cheer leading here.
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