- The Russian economy has enriched oligarchs, some of whom are subject to sanctions.
- Twelve Russian billionaires will receive $11.4 billion in dividends from 2023 to the first quarter of 2024.
- The payments show that Russia’s biggest companies are still raking in the cash despite Western efforts to isolate the Russian economy.
Russia’s wartime economy has not only made the lives of some poor people better, it has also enriched Russia’s oligarchs.
At least 12 businessmen The company has received more than 1 trillion rubles ($11.4 billion) in dividends for the full year 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, basing its calculations on publicly available information.
The news agency said many of the tycoons who received the dividends have close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, some of whom are under Western sanctions.
The biggest beneficiaries of the dividend payments were commodity exporters who benefited from Russia’s shift of trade eastward to China, India and other countries in the global south, whose main customers had previously been Europe.
The biggest winner was Vagit Alekperov, a major shareholder and former president of oil giant Lukoil who received 186 billion rubles in dividends, according to Bloomberg. He is facing sanctions from Britain and Australia.
Alexei Mordashov, chairman and major shareholder of the steel company Severstal, received 148 billion rubles in dividends. The US, UK and EU have imposed sanctions on him.
Meanwhile, Novolipetsk Steel Chairman Vladimir Lisin earned 121 billion rubles in dividends.
The dividend shows that Russia’s biggest companies are still making profits despite Russia’s isolation from the West, as the economy grew 5.4 percent in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period last year.
Russia’s war-driven economy is very hot. World Bank Last week, the country was upgraded to a “high-income” status.
But a leading Russian think tank, the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting, warned that if the Russian central bank raises interest rates, the Russian economy could cool and tip into crisis later this year, business news outlet Kommersant reported on Monday.
Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina has hinted at future interest rate hikes, citing higher-than-expected inflation.
Russia’s key interest rate is already at 16 percent to keep inflation in check, but inflation hit 8.3 percent in May, well above the official target of 4 percent.
