GLOBAL BUSINESS
The 140-metre superyacht Scheherazade is said to belong to Putin himself
MEDIUM
There’s no oligarchy quite like a Russian oligarchy. While extreme wealth gives individuals political influence in any country, Russia’s oligarchs form a closed system in which the lines between state, commercial and personal interests are unclear. It is without transparency, independence and the kinds of checks on power (imperfect as they are) found in democratic systems.
The West has sanctioned wealthy private citizens with links to Vladimir Putin, in the hope that they’ll put pressure on him to stop the war in Ukraine. However, half of Russia’s 20 richest people haven’t been sanctioned, particularly those with interests in key global markets. Vladimir Potanin, Russia’s richest man (worth $25.9 billion), has not been sanctioned. He owns over a third of Nornickel, the world’s largest producer of palladium and nickel. And the second-richest oligarch, Leonid Mikhelson (worth ...
