How kremlin is forcing big business to support war
With the war against Ukraine as a backdrop, the Russian authorities continue their campaign to nationalise large businesses.
▫️ The day before, 12 companies of the Vector Rail group, one of the largest owners of railway cars in russia, were nationalised. The value of these assets is approximately $3 billion. The owner of the group of companies was a former vice-president of the state-owned company russian railways, the monopolist of railway transportation in russia.
A large-scale campaign to alienate the assets of disloyal businesses in favour of the state was launched in russia at the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and continues to this day. In March, the russian prosecutor’s office reported to Putin that in 2024 it had confiscated assets worth 2.4 trillion rubles (approximately $28 billion).
Usually, the owners of the “squeezed” businesses are accused of supporting the armed forces or cooperating with “unfriendly countries”. The aim of this campaign is to show that even a hint of disloyalty can cost businessmen their entire fortune. This is how the kremlin intimidates the elites in order to gain their full support for its aggressive policies.
