Jailed Russian opponent Alexei Navalny on Tuesday decried the lack of systematic Western sanctions against Russian oligarchs for their support of Vladimir Putin’s regime and their military intervention in Ukraine.
In an example-packed message posted on his social media, he says that only 46 of the 200 richest Russians, as ranked by Forbes magazine, are currently subject to US, European or British sanctions.
“To me, it doesn’t really look like an all-out war against Putin’s oligarchs,” he said.
Ban Putin supporters “for 20 years”
According to him, among others, the CEO of the Russian giant Gazprom, Alexei Miller, is not yet subject to European sanctions, while the famous oligarch Roman Abramovich still escapes US sanctions.
“The Abramovich companies continue to supply metal to the Russian Defense Ministry. How come they are not sanctioned yet?” Navalny asks.
“We cannot expect a schism within Putin’s elites regarding the war, if, despite much talk, we do not use the stick against them and let them keep the carrots,” adds Alexei Navalny.
It also proposes to ban “for 20 years” in the United States, the United Kingdom and the EU any Russian personality who publicly supports the offensive in Ukraine. On the contrary, according to him, “a simple mechanism” to avoid sanctions would be to openly declare against the offensive in Ukraine and “stop supporting the Putin regime with words, deeds and money.”
Towards a visa ban for all Russians?
“I call on voters and lawmakers in the EU, UK, US and Canada to put pressure on the executive, to force it to stop bluffing and introduce massive personal sanctions against Putin’s crooks,” Alexei Navalny launched.
These declarations take place when the European Union must study from the end of August a visa ban for all Russians.
In March, Alexei Navalny was sentenced to nine years in prison on charges of fraud that he considers fictitious. He was arrested in January 2021, upon his return to Russia after being treated in Germany after a serious poisoning that he attributes to the Kremlin, which he denies.
From his prison near the town of Vladimir, 200 kilometers east of Moscow, he continues to send messages to his lawyers. His anti-corruption organization maintains a list of more than 6,000 Russian officials accused of supporting the Kremlin’s offensive in Ukraine.
Source: BFM TV
