(LibertySociety.com) – On March 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy, Anatoly Chubais, quit his role and fled Russia with his wife. An anonymous source familiar with the issue told Bloomberg he has no plans to return to the country. According to the source, Chubais resigned over his opposition to the invasion of Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he left of “his own free will.” Although reports say the envoy was not a Kremlin insider, he did have ties as a special representative for international organizations.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Chubais helped reform Russia’s economy under former President Boris Yeltsin. He also helped to create many of the wealthy Russian oligarchs of today.
⚡Breaking: Anatoly Chubais, who gave Putin his first Kremlin job, stepped down as Russia's climate envoy and has left the country over Putin's war in Ukrainehttps://t.co/MMEDrTal6V
— Scott Rose (@rprose) March 23, 2022
Alexei Navalny’s spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, doesn’t believe Chubais left because he opposed the war. She suggested he left because of the sanctions and their potential impact on his wealth.
Two days after Chubais quit, Putin reportedly dismissed him from his foreign relations role, signing a decree to that effect. Although he’s the most senior official close to Putin to resign his position, he has yet to comment formally on the exact reasoning for his departure.
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