Oligarchs Mikhail Friedman And Oleg Deripaska Call For An End To Putin's War

Friedman, who was born in western Ukraine, wrote in a letter to staff that he wanted the “bloodshed to end.”

“My parents are Ukrainian citizens and live in Lviv, my favorite city. But I also spent much of my life as a Russian citizen, building and growing businesses. “I am deeply attached to the Ukrainian and Russian people and see the current conflict as a tragedy for both,” Friedman wrote.

“This crisis will cost lives and damage two nations that have been brothers for hundreds of years. Although the decision seems frighteningly far away, I can only join those whose ardent desire is for the bloodshed to end,” he added in a letter. is provided by his office. The Financial Times was the first to announce the letter.

Friedman is chairman of the Alfa Group, a private conglomerate operating primarily in Russia and the former Soviet Union, which includes banking, insurance, retail and mineral water production. Friedman has a net worth of $ 11.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index.

The billionaire is also chairman of Alfa Bank, Russia’s fourth-largest financial services company and the largest private bank. Last week, Alfa Bank was hit by sanctions that would prevent it from raising money through the US market.

Russian businessman Mikhail Friedman, left, and businessman Viktor Vekselberg speak at a conference in Moscow on September 17, 2019.

Friedman’s call for peace was echoed by Deripaska, a billionaire who made his fortune in the aluminum business.

“Peace is very important! Negotiations must begin as soon as possible!” Deripaska said this in a Telegram post on Sunday.

He also drew attention to the economic situation in a series of publications on Monday, when the ruble collapsed and the Russian stock market failed to open for trading.

“I really want clarification and understandable comments on economic policy over the next three months,” Deripaska said, adding that the central bank’s decision to drastically raise interest rates and force companies to sell foreign currency was “the first test of who will actually be paying.” for this banquet. “

“A change in economic policy is needed, [we] all this state capitalism must end, “he added.

Deripaska emerged from the chaotic struggle for assets after the collapse of the Soviet Union with a huge fortune, which Forbes estimated at $ 28 billion in 2008. In 2018, he was sanctioned by the United States, which noted that the oligarch “does not separate from the Russian state ”.

Oleg Deripaska at a corporate event in Russia on December 17, 2021.

Russia’s oligarchs are facing economic chaos and punishment from the West after President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to enter Ukraine last week. The United States and its allies, including the United Kingdom, have responded by imposing sanctions on wealthy people close to the Kremlin.

The United States is even targeting the families of oligarchs, a new step aimed at undermining support for Putin among Russia’s elite. Last week, the US Treasury Department sanctioned the sons of two of Putin’s closest officials.

“Elites close to Putin continue to use their closeness to the Russian president to rob the Russian state, enrich themselves and elevate their family members to some of the highest positions of power,” the finance ministry said in a statement. sanctions.

– Anna Stewart contributed to this article.