Although I had significant business interests in Russia, both personally and through the ISTIL Group, unlike many companies, we made the conscious decision to effectively sever ties with the Russian Federation as early as 2014. This was a direct response to Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and the invasion of Donetsk and Luhansk. For us, the violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and the start of the conflict in these regions made it morally impossible to continue any form of cooperation with Russia.
“Although I had significant business interests in Russia, both personally and through the ISTIL Group, unlike many companies, we made the conscious decision to effectively sever ties with the Russian Federation as early as 2014.”
The Ongoing Complicity of Businesses Still Operating in Russia
“By maintaining these ties, these businesses are, in effect, contributing to the very machinery that funds Russia’s war efforts. In doing so, they risk becoming complicit in the atrocities, war crimes, and the mass murder that is being carried out by Russian forces on Ukrainian soil.”
It’s important to note that while we took this decisive step almost immediately, many other businesses continued their operations in Russia, needing another eight years and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 to finally reconsider their presence in the country. Disturbingly, even today, some companies remain active in Russia, continuing to pay taxes to a regime that is now widely recognized for its brutal aggression. By maintaining these ties, these businesses are, in effect, contributing to the very machinery that funds Russia’s war efforts. In doing so, they risk becoming complicit in the atrocities, war crimes, and the mass murder that is being carried out by Russian forces on Ukrainian soil.
