The circle of Vladimir Putin has changed. bMany of his most loyal allies are a href= https://www.infobae.com/america/mundo/2022/03/11/todos-contra-putin-sus-funcionarios-mas-leales-se-sienten-enganados-por-el -ataque-a-ucrania/ target="_blank unaware of the President's plans to invade Ukraine and are not ready to accept sanctions. Several Russian sources told the Italian newspaper La Repubblic a in Kiev as follows. “Those who have built fame and empire in this country for many years, or who have lived a sweet life between a huge hidden account in a western town and abroad, today see the castle collapsing like sand; Western sanctions”.
According to US and European intelligence officials, as Putin's war escalated, the president became more and more isolated. It seems that businessmen and politicians who once belonged to Putin's inner world now do not want to change direction or can not put pressure on it.
Now more and more advisers and former believers, including industrialist bOleg Deripaska and billionaire banker Mikhail Friedman
The Washington Post has successfully identified some key figures in an extensive network of political and economic elites surrounding Russian leaders. Many of these are subject to US, UK, or EU sanctions, while others have no restrictions.
In the context of Russia, oligarchs are very wealthy business elites with an imbalance of political power. They appear in two very different waves.
The first group came from privatization in the 1990s, in particular, from the cash sales of the largest state-owned enterprises since 1995. The process was undermined by severe corruption, which eventually led to the notorious “stock lending” scheme. The plan moved shares of 12 large natural resources companies from the government to select giants in exchange for loans to strengthen the federal budget.
The government deliberately defaulted loans, allowing creditors and future oligarchs to auction shares of giants.
After Putin came to power in 2000, he promoted the second wave of oligarchy through state contracts. Private suppliers in many areas, such as infrastructure, defense and health care, will overcharge governments several times higher than the market and pay bribes to relevant state officials. As a result, Putin has enriched the new oligarchs who owe huge amounts of wealth.
In essence, Putin proposed an agreement: the oligarchs will withdraw from politics, and the Kremlin will often stop doing business, ignoring illegal interests.
The oligarchs helped Putin stay in power through political immobility and financial support for the Kremlin's internal initiatives. These people have large stakes in industries such as metallurgy, banking, technology, petrochemicals, and luxury real estate.
According to media reports, government statements, financial data leaks and, in some cases, interviews with men, many were old friends or partners of the president, including Arkady Rothenberg, Putin's childhood friend and former judo partner.
In the Premier League, some, such as Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich, have long denied establishing a direct financial relationship with Putin. In the case of Abramovich, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said last week there was “clear evidence” linking Abramovich to Putin's regime.
However, others, such as bPetr Aven, also acknowledged his relationship with Putin: Robert Mueller III, who investigated Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election, said in an interview with the US UU that he was one of the 50 wealthy Russian businessmen who met Putin on a regular basis. Nevertheless, he and his business partner Mikhail Fridman) said in a statement earlier this month that “lies about imposing EU sanctions challenge this It was an unfounded reason to do it, and will continue to be.” Said it.
In Russia, a href="https://www.infobae.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" most of the media is directly or indirectly controlled by states or organizations related to President Putin. The remaining few independent media outlets face many restrictions in their work, many of which are classified as “foreign agents”.
@@ Like today, there are no words in the media such as “war”, “Ukrainian army” or “aggression”, and there is a risk of blocking the Internet and imposing a fine.During the pandemic, audiovisual media do not broadcast images of Russian hospitals, so they do not broadcast images of Ukraine.The invasion that slandered a part of Ukraine was described as a “military operation” to protect the Russian-speaking population from “genocide.” But many Russian journalists are at war. I was against it. They encourage statements of condemnation. and the cultural, economic and social conflicts that will arise in Russia Blamed the fall.
Misinformation is an ancient technique that is systematically used in armed conflicts. Russia has developed powerful cyber capabilities that can generate fraud and misinformation not only in the media RT and Sputnik, but also abroad, known as “Internet research institutes”. The media creates content, trolls act on social networks, generate many confusing stories, facts and opinions that cause doubts and confusion.The main goal of these measures is to establish and disseminate ideas in favor of the Russian government and foreign policy.
In order to avoid misinformation and toxic content, the EU stated last month that it imposed sanctions against a large number of media figures and announced restrictions on the use of Russian platforms to support the undermining or undermining of all those listed in the Official Gazette to undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine”
These include editors, writers, journalists and talk show organizers of the most important television networks in the United States, all of which were described by the EU as spreading anti-Ukrainian propaganda.
Critics of Russia say that sanctions on energy exports are the best way to force Moscow to withdraw.
Russia is an energy-rich country with the largest natural gas reserves in the world.Europe relies heavily on energy imported from Russia, the second largest exporter of crude oil in the world after Saudi Arabia. Exports of oil and gas are essential for the Kremlin economy, but it is also one of Putin's most important geopolitical weapons.
The United States has banned all imports of energy from Russia, including oil. Germany also stated that it will suspend the approval of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.However, since Western leaders are cautious about measures that could harm consumers, most of these products have not spared sanctions. Oil prices have risen since the invasion of Russia.
The state-owned oil company Rosneft is one of the largest listed oil companies in the world, and its CEO and President Igor Sechin has long contributed and loyal to Putin. bNikolai Tokarev, president of the Russian Secret Service, who worked with Putin in the 1980s, is currently the president of Transneft, a state-owned company that transports most of Russia's oil extraction.
Putin's cabinet includes defense minister, hunting and fishing companion Sergei Shoigu, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. In recent weeks, the United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions against the two of them. Neither side has publicly commented on the sanctions.
However, according to Russian investigative journalist Andrei Soldatov and politician Irina Borogan, who had no combat experience, Shoigu said that he was “one of the most ambitious members of Putin's inner world.” He received Putin from a house in the mountains of Siberia, and local media reports collected by The Post called him “a close ally” and “friend” of the president.
However, according to Lieutenant General Scott Beryl, the head of the Defense Intelligence Service, the fierce resistance to Ukrainian aggression caused the death of up to 4,000 Russian soldiers.
Prime Minister Mikhail Mitch Ustin and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin (Sergei Sobyanin) are currently not necessarily key advisers, but are responsible for implementing Putin's domestic policy. That is why Switzerland and the EU sought sanctions from Mishtin, and Canada put Sobyanin on the list.
Experts say that Putin trusted military and security officials more because he was an intelligence officer. Some of them have existed for many years - from Chechnya to Syria to Crimea.
The most important persons listed in the Washington Post are the head of the Federal Security Service, bNikolai Patruhev Alexander Boltnikov, Secretary of the Security Council, and Serge i Naryshkin, the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service. Valery Gerasimov was the Chief of Staff of the Russian Army, who was partially responsible for the war plan.
According to US and European intelligence officials, Putin's close advisers may not be able to tell the truth about how difficult and expensive the war was. It is also unknown who is making a decision.In fact, despite the fact that there was an advanced air force for three weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, it failed to control the skies of Ukraine and suffered huge military losses.
Infographic: Marcelo Regardo
(Includes information from AP)
Keep reading: