Dozens of rich Russians, consisting of members of President Vladimir Putins inner circle, got away the country in the early days of the full-blown invasion of Ukraine, the independent media outlet Proekt reportedWednesday.Forty-nine of the 200 Russian business owners on Forbes list of billionaires left Russia in late February and March 2022, according to Proekts analysis of dripped border crossing information.
Some left even before the invasion, when Putin acknowledged the independence of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk Peoples Republics on Feb.
21.
Numerous of those who left had actually participated in the famous conference in the Kremlin on the first day of the war where Putinurged top organization executives and heads of state-owned business to comprehend what is happening.Nearly one-third of the billionaires who left 17 in overall went to the United Arab Emirates.
5 traveled to Switzerland, 5 to Turkey, four to France and 3 to Cyprus.According to the leaked information, some of Putins closest associates were among the very first to leave.On Feb.
23, Boris Rotenberg, the more youthful sibling of Putins youth friend and longtime ally Arkady Rotenberg, flew to Nice, France.The following day, Mikhail Shelkov, deputy chairman of the board at VSMPO-AVISMA, an essential supplier of titanium to Russias defense market, also left.
Shelkov is believed to have close ties to Sergei Chemezov, head of the state defense corporation Rostec.The founders of Alfa Group and Alfa Bank were amongst those who promptly departed.
Petr Aven traveled to Italy on Feb.
25 and was followed not long after by Mikhail Fridman and German Khan.Their previous partner in the oil company, Renova Group head Viktor Vekselberg, left for Turkey.Leonid Mikhelson, a significant investor in Novatek, and Rusagro creator Vadim Moshkovich who wasarrested in March 2025 traveled to Cyprus.EuroChem and Siberian Coal Energy Company (SUEK) creator Andrei Melnichenko, who likewise holds a UAE passport, shown up in Dubai on Feb.
25.
Dmitry Pumpyansky, the then-owner of the Pipe Metallurgical Company (TMK), followed on Feb.
28.
Proekt observed another wave of departures surrounding the June 23, 2023, mutiny led by Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Fifteen Forbes-listed billionaires left Russia between June 22-26.
During Prigozhins uprising, Arkady Rotenberg appeared to have gone toAzerbaijan on urgent service, while tycoons Alexei Mordashov and Roman Abramovich reportedly flew to Turkey.
On June 25, Abramovich was photographed in Tel Aviv, with the images distributing in the Israeli media.