Activists in the West are taking sanctions into their own hands — at least with properties they believe are owned by Russian oligarchs close to the seat of power.
In France Sergei Savelyev, a human rights activist wrote on Facebook, “While the authorities in the U.S., England and France look for ways to pressure [Russia] economically, we are instituting our own measures.” He and a blogger from the Svoboda Liberté Association named Pierre Lapurdi — nom de plume Pierre Haffner — then broke into a villa in Biarritz. The eight-bedroom villa called Alta Mira is believed to belong to Kirill Shamalov, former husband of Katerina Tikhonova, Vladimir Putin’s daughter.
The two allegedly found and photographed a copy of Shamalov’s passport documents and other documents with signatures of Gennady Timchenko and Kirill Shamalov. Gennady Timchenko is a close associate of Vladimir Putin who headed the oil-exporter Gunvor Group and now heads the Volga Group, a major shareholder of the Novatek gas giant. The news outlet “Insider” writes that the property registry in France shows the in 2007 the property belonged to Timchenko, who transferred it to Shamalov in 2012.
Lipurdi and Savelyev said the newly named Villa Ukraine should be used to house refugees from Ukraine — once the Biarritz city hall and police granted permission. However, before that could happen, they were arrested.
Vladimir Osechkin, founder of Gulagu.net, a human rights group that tracks and exposes abuse in Russian prisons, wrote on his Facebook page that they had already been released by the police.
Meanwhile in London, four squatters broke into the mansion of Oleg Deripaska early Monday morning and went out on the balcony to unfurl banners reading “This property has been liberated” and an obscenity directed at Vladimir Putin.
The activists said that they wanted to open the mansion to Ukrainian refugees. After negotiations with police, the squatters finally left the property. The four squatters and another four activists outside the mansion were arrested.
The group, which included activists from the Baltic states, said that they were “doing the government’s work for them and… doing it for free,” after Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government said the oligarch’s homes ought to be expropriated for refugees fleeing the war.
Oleg Deripaska is head of Rusal, one of the world’s largest producers of aluminum. He was recently sanctioned by the U.K. government.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
