Vladimir Putin has largely put on a display of bravado concerning his Ukraine war while only occasionally admitting to shortcomings with his plan. He also pulled out of a nuclear pact in what felt like a temper tantrum, and overall, things are not going well with this conflict. Russia has turned to recruiting female troops, and Putin’s private gathering of mercenaries, the Wagner Group, is now recruiting Pornhub visitors, and that doesn’t even account for what’s happening with Russia’s economy.
Between the reported Viagra and paper shortages in Russia and the sorry imitation of McDonald’s that the country attempted to install, consumers already aren’t happy with the war’s effects. Then there are all the sanctions flying from various Western countries, but Putin is here with a solution: attempting to guilt billionaires into fixing Russia for him. In a speech geared towards Russia’s elite, as Reuters reports, the Russian president also sounds pretty steamed about oligarchs growing fearful about their nation’s economy and increasingly moving into offshore-asset mode:
“A responsible entrepreneur is a real citizen of Russia, of his country, a citizen who understands and acts in its interests,” Putin said. “He does not hide assets offshore, but registers companies here, in our country, and does not become dependent on foreign authorities.”
Good luck with that? I’m guessing that no oligarch who has lost his $600 million superyacht or several homes to sanction-based seizures will be willing to pony up all of the assets to help save Russia. Nope, Vlad is gonna have to figure this one out on his own.
(Via Reuters)