Vladimir Putin criticised by Russian billionaire: This is what happens to those who speak out

Former founder of investment company O1 Group, Mints has described the war in Ukraine as ‘vile.’ He told the BBC that it is:

The most tragic event in recent history, not only of Ukraine and Russia, but globally.

Mints went on to compare the Ukraine war to AdolfHitler’s invasion of Poland in 1939. He said:

This war is a result of madness and hunger for power of a single person, Vladimir Putin, supported by his inner circle.

Russians are 'afraid' to speak out

It is rare for high-profile business people in Russia to criticise the Kremlin. Why? Because 'they are all afraid,' according to Mints.

Mints explained that 'any person' who publicly critiques Putin 'has grounds to worry about personal safety.' He continued that the 'usual way' to punish business people in Russia for their 'intolerance' towards the Kremlin was to 'open a fabricated criminal case against their business.' Mints added:

Any business leader independent from [Putin] is seen as a threat as he or she may be capable of financing opposition or cultivating protest—as such, those people are seen as Putin’s enemies and, therefore, as enemies of the state.

Despite this, Mints said: 'I have no intention to live in a bomb shelter, as Mr Putin does.' However, he did leave Russia in 2015 due to fears for his safety and currently lives in London, according to Fortune.

What happens to those who oppose Vladimir Putin?

In March this year, Putin's fiercest critic Alexey Navalny was sentenced to nine years in a maximum-security prison known for brutality for fraud and contempt of court, charges he claims are politically motivated.

Meanwhile, journalist Anna Politkovskaya was murdered on Putin's birthday—7 October—in 2006, two years after releasing a book that criticised the Russian government and Putin. While six men were convicted, her assassination is widely believed to have been a contract killing, and it is still unclear who ordered it, as reported by the International Press Institute.

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