In response to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, western countries are announcing a series of economic sanctions against Russian billionaires, businesspeople and companies with ties to the Russian government, in an effort to derail the military offensive against Kyiv.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine was not entirely surprising. Intelligence reports have been warning of such a move by Russian President Vladimir Putin for many weeks now.
However, the scale and the speed at which this military invasion has been going through has pushed western countries to issue historic sanctions against the Russians, hoping this punishment can slow the Russian progress into Kyiv and force them into negotiations with Ukraine.
So far, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the European Union have targeted several businesses and Russian billionaires with their sanctions, primarily freezing their assets and banning any international business ventures with them, all in retaliation for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to Bloomberg, sanctions against Russia's wealthiest oligarchs have resulted in a $39 billion loss during the first 24 hours alone, which coincided with a major crash of the Russian stock market on the first few days of exchange following the invasion.
Russian Billionaires Targeted with Western Sanctions:
Vladimir Putin
Considering his role as the sole source of the decision to invade Ukraine, and despite the lack of accurate reports regarding his wealth, Vladimir Putin is the top Russian personality to be sanctioned by the west.
Putin, who has been ruling Russia since 2000, as Prime Minister at times and as President at others, is widely believed to be one of the richest men alive, if not the richest ever. According to a report published in the Atlantic in 2017, Putin's fortune is estimated at around $200 billion.
The 69-years old leader of the Russian Federation with a deep background in the intelligence world has been personally the target of western sanctions since Thursday.
Sergei Lavrov
Here is the second most-known Russian politician who has also accumulated major wealth while in office. Sergei Lavrov is a leading diplomat who has been Russia's Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2004.
Sergei Shoigu
Since sanctions have been triggered by the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, western sanctions have also targeted the Minister of Defence Sergei Shoigu.
Maria Zakharova
Maria is another figure in the Russian government as the leads the Information and Press Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Valery Gerasimov
Gerasimov is a military man who serves as the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces since 2012.
Aleksandr and Denis Bortnikov
Director of the Russian Federal Security Service, Aleksandr Bortnikov is considered one of the closest people to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He is a board member at Russia's largest shipping company Sovkomflot.
Bortnikov's son, Denis, is the deputy president of the Russian state-owned bank; VTB.
Sergei and Vladimir Kiriyenko
Sergei Kiriyenko is a former Prime Minister or the Russian Federation who also served as head of the country's Federal Atomic Energy Agency, Rosatom.
Kiriyenko the father is also chairman of the board of directors Atomenergoprom nuclear company. His son, Vladimir, is a leading businessman who serves as the chief executive officer of Russian social media network; VK.
Previously, Vladimir Kiriyenko was head of Russia's largest provider of digital services; Rostelecom.
Petr Fradkov
Even though Petr Fradkov is less political than other names on the list, he is one of the Russian billionaires and most successful businessmen in the country. He is also quite close to Russian's President Vladimir Putin. Petr Fradkov is son of former Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov.
Petr Fradkov is the chairman and CEO of Promsvyazbank. Moreover, he is the general director of the Russian Export Center.
Boris and Igor Rotenberg
With $1.07 billion, Rotenberg was Russia's 69th wealthiest person in 2016, according to Forbes.
Brother Igor and Boris Rotenberg are the co-owners of Russia's largest construction company SGM group which is specialized in gas pipelines and electrical power supply lines.
Gennady Timchenko
The Russian-Armenian businessman who has been targeted by Western sanctions is the founder and owner of Volga Group, an investment group focusing on energy, transport, and infrastructure needs.
