Russian elites are moving funds abroad to protect their financial assets from economic risks in Russia and from the Kremlin's efforts to nationalize private assets. This is stated in an analysis by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), reports News.bg.
Referring to a Bloomberg publication from July 16, ISW notes that some of the richest Russians, including people close to President Vladimir Putin, are redirecting their financial portfolios to cryptocurrencies, gold, foreign real estate and other investments outside of Russia.
According to Bloomberg, unofficial financial flows through cryptocurrencies are also increasing, including through the virtual currency A7A5, owned by the A7 company of pro-Kremlin Moldovan politician Ilan Shor.
The analysis indicates that Russian elites are increasingly concerned about publicly known cases of asset confiscation, as well as the state of the banking sector and the economy as a whole.
ISW notes that the Kremlin has taken steps that question the long-standing model of relations between Vladimir Putin and Russian oligarchs, established after privatization in the 1990s. Putin reportedly asked leading Russian businessmen to donate funds to the war effort during a meeting on March 26, 2026, and on May 5, Russia's Prosecutor General nationalized the country's largest agricultural holding.
According to the analysis, the Russian economy continues to be under increasing pressure from the war and structural problems affecting economic growth, inflation, and the banking sector. This, according to ISW, is causing some of the Russian elite to take action to protect their assets outside the country.
The institute also points out that the Ukrainian campaign of drone strikes against Russian logistics is likely to further weaken the overburdened Russian air defenses.
On July 16, the spokesman for the Ukrainian Navy, Captain 2nd Rank Dmytro Pletenchuk, said that the Ukrainian forces' drone operations in the Sea of Azov had paralyzed Russian fuel supplies and made it difficult to supply occupied Crimea with provisions.