Oligarchs living in fear as Putin purges take bloody toll
It has long been a cut-throat world for the Russian elite, but the recent spate of blood-letting – both literal and figurative – has shocked serving and former government officials, who spoke with The Telegraph anonymously amid fear of reprisals.
People who might once have been seen as untouchable, either through their political connections or loyalty to Vladimir Putin, have found themselves out of favour, out of office and, on occasion, falling out of windows.
The war in Ukraine has upended the status quo, with the Kremlin nationalising businesses to plug its coffers while corporate 'raiders' compete ever more violently for a shrinking piece of the pie.
'It all looks horrifying,' said a former official from the Russian presidential administration. 'If you look at the recent arrest of top state company executives, the mysterious deaths, people in government and politics are, pardon my French, s----ing themselves.'
In July alone, Andrei Badalov, the vice-president of state-owned pipeline company Transneft, fell to his death from a balcony at his home. A former deputy defence minister was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment on charges of corruption, only for a fellow military official to go down for 17.
Meanwhile, state security drove the nationalisation of the country's largest airport, taking it from the hands of owners with dual citizenship, while the Bombardier jet of billionaire gold tycoon Konstantin Strukov was boarded to prevent him from fleeing the country.
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The Sun
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Watch as paranoid Putin is escorted by anti-drone rocket launcher on walkabout after fearful despot cancelled ‘Navy Day'
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