Russian businessman places $1 million bounty on Vladimir Putin’s head
As the world has continued to tighten the screws against Vladimir Putin and the Russian economy, we’ve been waiting for signs that the Russian oligarchs – the ultra wealthy businessmen who have greatly benefited financially from Putin’s previous antics – might finally be ready to oust him from within. Even as we continue to wait for that, a wealthy Russian businessman who lives outside of Russia is making very clear where he stands.
Last night Russian businessman Alex Konanykhin announced online that Putin is “Wanted: Dead or alive. Vladimir Putin for mass murder” – and he offered $1 million to anyone in Russia who’s willing to pull it off. Konanykhin has a reported net worth of around $300 million, so he’s certainly able to make such a payment. Moreover, Russian citizens are surely aware that he’s wealthy enough to be able to make good on it.
The question is whether Konanykhin’s offer will be widely heard in Russia. Konanykhin is technically a Russian oligarch, but he’s opposed Putin for decades and lives in the United States. So there’s no reason to presume that he’s coordinating this with any of the pro-Putin oligarchs who live in Russia. With Putin taking increasing measures to try to cut the Russian population off from real news, it’s not clear how many of the Russian people will get word of this offer.
At the least, this is yet another reminder of just how many powerful people around the world are now taking steps to try to oust from Putin power – and some of them are Russian. Putin is reportedly acting in more paranoid fashion than ever. It sounds like Putin has good reason to be paranoid.
