Russia’s Billionaires Are Renouncing Their Citizenship in Protest of Putin’s War in Ukraine

Over the past several months, a number of Russians have been vocal in their opposition to Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. Now some of them are taking it even further, giving up their Russian citizenship in response to Putin’s actions.

The billionaires Nikolay Storonsky, pictured above, and Oleg Tinkov both took that move recently, renouncing their Russian citizenship to make their position on the war clear. Storonsky apparently did so earlier this year, while Tinkov shared the news on Monday via Instagram, Bloomberg reported.

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“I can’t and won’t be associated with a fascist country, that started a war with their peaceful neighbour and killing innnocent people daily,” Tinkov wrote on Instagram. “It is a shame for me to continue to hold this passport. I hope more prominent Russian businessmen will follow me, so it weakens Putin’s regime and his economy, and put him eventually to defeat. I hate Putin’s Russia, but love all Russians who are clearly against this crazy war!”

Tinkov, one of the first Russian billionaires to speak out against the war, was sanctioned by the United Kingdom in March, according to Bloomberg. In April, he posted a vivid note against the war on Instagram and a week later sold his family’s stake in Tinkoff Bank for an undisclosed amount.

Meanwhile, Storonsky gave up his citizenship sometime this year, although it isn’t clear when exactly he decided to do so. A spokesperson for Revolut, the fintech start-up he helped found, told Bloomberg, “Nik is a British citizen. Earlier this year he renounced his citizenship by birth to Russia. His position on the war is on the public record: the war is totally abhorrent and he remains resolute in calling for an immediate end to the fighting.”

Earlier this month, Storonsky’s father, an executive at a unit of Russia’s Gazprom, was sanctioned by Ukraine. Storonsky, whose net worth is $6.7 billion, renounced his citizenship before that happened, the spokesperson said.

While the two businessmen have taken the leap of giving up their citizenship, it remains to be seen whether more Russian billionaires will heed Tinkov’s directive to follow him in an attempt to sap some of Putin’s power.

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