Over the last week, the term ‘oligarch’ has been flooding our news and social media feeds, with several countries sanctioning them as Russia continued to invade Ukraine. Politicians, news organisations and other experts have been frequently using the term, and referring to these ‘oligarchs’ in almost every scenario.
This leads us to the question — Who is an ‘oligarch‘?
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines oligarchy as “government by the few”, and “a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes”.
An oligarch is thus a member of that group of ‘few’ who controls the government for those “corrupt and selfish purposes”. The term conjures images of posh London mansions, goldplated Bentleys and sleek superyachts in the Mediterranean, their decks draped with partiers dripping in jewels.
Who is a Russian Oligarch?
Russian oligarchs are generally extremely wealthy business tycoons who have political connections, and reportedly become more prominent in the 1990s. However, oligarchs are not unique to just Russia. Nevertheless, many of them are involved in and benefit from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime and even serve in key positions.
“Russian oligarchs and elites who profit from this corrupt system will no longer be insulated from the consequences of their government’s destabilizing activities,” the US Treasury Department had stated while imposing sanctions on oligarchs in 2018 as Putin occupied Crimea and continued to impose violence on Ukraine.
Oligarchs Who Have Been Sanctioned
The Biden administration ordered new sanctions blocking Russian business oligarchs and others in President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle on Thursday in response to Russian forces’ fierce pummeling of Ukraine.
Those targeted by the new US sanctions include Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, and Alisher Burhanovich Usmanov, one of Russia’s wealthiest individuals and a close ally of Putin. The US State Department also announced it was imposing visa bans on 19 Russian oligarchs and dozens of their family members and close associates.
Others targeted Thursday include Nikolai Tokarev, a Transneft oil executive; Arkady Rotenberg, co-owner of the largest construction company for gas pipelines and electrical power supply lines in Russia; Sergei Chemezov, a former KGB agent who has long been close to Putin; Igor Shuvalov, a former first deputy prime minister and chairman of State Development Corp.; and Yevgeniy Prigozhin, a Russian businessman with close ties to Putin.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said law firms working to stop Russian oligarchs from being hit by government sanctions could face penalties themselves.
“The legal profession, everybody involved in assisting in those who wish to hide money in London and assisting corrupt oligarchs have been set on notice that their actions are under scrutiny,” Johnson told parliament.
Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven are among the oligarchs who have been sanctioned by the European Union following Russian offensive against Ukraine. Others include Igor Sechin, Nikolay Tokarev, Alisher Usmanov, Sergei Roldugin, Alexander Ponomarenko, Gennady Timchenko, Alexei Mordashov and Petr Fradkov.
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