The Kremlin reports that President Vladimir Putin’s envoy for liaison with international organizations has resigned. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying that Anatoly Chubais had submitted his resignation.
The news was first reported by Bloomberg, which quoted two people familiar with the situation as saying Chubais had resigned over his opposition to the war in Ukraine. CBS News has not confirmed the reason for Chubais’ resignation.
Peskov did not want to say whether Chubais had left the country, he said it was a private matter. But Bloomberg and Reuters, citing multiple sources, reported Chubais had left Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, listens to then ROSNANO CEO Anatoly Chubais at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia Monday November 7, 2016. Alexei Druzhinin / AP
Chubais, the architect of Russia’s post-Soviet privatization campaign, has held a variety of senior official positions over the past three decades.
His last job involved contacts with international organizations to pursue the goals of sustainable development – a broad portfolio that enabled him to maintain contacts with leading foreign officials and organizations.
After Russia began invading last month, Chubais released a photo of Boris Nemtsov, a leading Russian opposition figure, who was shot dead near the Kremlin in 2015. Even without a caption, it was seen as a strong statement from a Moscow insider.
Chubais’ resignation appears to reflect growing disagreements among top Russian officials over the military operation in Ukraine.
In the 1990s, under President Boris Yeltsin, Chubais was seen as a pioneer in efforts to liberalize the Russian economy. But Chubais’ enemies saw him as the mastermind behind dubious privatization deals.
Reuters reported Wednesday that Chubais hung up the phone when contacted by the news agency.
Chubais’ resignation comes a week after Putin unleashed a diatribe on those who oppose his courses as Russian forces in Ukraine face stiff opposition.
“The Russian people will always be able to tell true patriots from scum and traitors and will just spit them out like a mosquito that accidentally got into their mouth — spit them out on the sidewalk,” Putin said last week. “I am convinced that such a natural and necessary self-cleansing of society will only strengthen our country, our solidarity, our cohesion and our willingness to respond to all challenges.”
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