“Whoever fights back as best they can” – Kommersant FM

Billionaire Mikhail Fridman spoke about the vicissitudes of his London life. The businessman has lost his sense of comfort and sense of stability. Despite ending the investigation against himself for failure to comply with sanctions, he still fears retaliation from the police. Kommersant FM political commentator Dmitry Drize believes that pressure on domestic entrepreneurs abroad will increase even more.

Mikhail Fridman, following his long-term partner Petr Aven, also gave an interview, this time to The Times newspaper. The reason seems to be positive, but in reality it turns out that it is not very good. The British authorities intended to prosecute him for evading sanctions, but in the end the case had to be closed due to insufficient evidence.

But Mikhail Maratovich is not happy. Now he fears police retaliation to put the arrogant Russian oligarch in his place. And then a whole tirade follows, how he hoped for stability, for a quiet life in Foggy Albion, but lost all this at once. Imagine, he was handcuffed, 51 police officers arrived at the scene, and the street was blocked by dozens of cars to conduct a search for a completely trivial matter.

In Russia this is called a “mask show” and happens quite often. And now, it turns out, something similar is happening in good old England. He, Friedman, left the Russian Federation precisely for this reason, in order to stop being in constant tension – and here it is on you. The overall conclusion is this: it seems that being a rich Russian is a crime without any exceptions. No, Mikhail Maratovich, there are exceptions. This is the task to have more of them. But more on that below.

We understand that Fridman, Aven and many other fellow sufferers are now trying in every possible way to lift the sanctions. Therefore, the general meaning of such flashy interviews is an appeal to Western values. You can’t behave the same way, dear police, wealth is not a crime. And even despite the fact that it was acquired mainly in Russia. London is stability and calm. And you, the authorities, are trampling on your own principles.

Yes, such tactics may well work. Be that as it may, despite various inconveniences and even persecutions, our “Russian London” is still holding out. Anyone fights back as best they can. And no one, it seems, is going to slam the door loudly and solemnly announce the return to their homeland.

Although cases of condemnation of Russian actions and even renunciation of citizenship, of course, are not widespread, they are no longer isolated. Bye. And this must be recognized. Our former Western partners are not going to calm down and are trying in every possible way to adjust the sanctions policy so as to at least try to win “Russian London” to their side or otherwise make the life of the oligarchs unbearable – so that they cry.

The first option is, of course, preferable. Russian businessmen are large taxpayers and investors in their Western economies. It’s not customary to throw things away like that. But now we see that our oligarchs themselves are already appealing to Western values. They say they are good – part of the free world.

Strange, isn’t it? At home, the Western way of life is considered hostile, false and class alien, and a certain part of the population defends all this and even blames Western society. Something here is not as it might seem. Actually, returning to Friedman – today, of all our large businesses abroad, he is perhaps the most noticeable. This isn’t always a good thing. It’s risky to quarrel with the London police. So, really, no matter what the hour is, you will end up under criminal charges.

---

Everything is clear with us – Telegram channel “Kommersant FM”.