This is a long tweet by Russian dissident Oleksii Navalny, fully translated by EFOR for the Romanian public, with illustrations, with the express permission of the author.

Russian oligarchs Secin and MillerPhoto: Twitter

Putin has been at war with Ukraine for six months. From day one, Western leaders have been adamant that Putin’s oligarchs and corrupt officials will be subject to immediate sanctions, that they will not escape this time. But they escaped. This is a text written in anger, because almost nothing moves in this direction. The Simpsons has a character, the corrupt Mayor Quimby. His favorite saying is: “Did I hear the briefcase open?”. I always remember him when I see how Putin’s oligarchs and activators they (lobbyists, lawyers, bankers) successfully block sanctions even during war.

The situation is as follows: on the one hand, there is full support in the European Parliament, national parliaments, Congress and the US Senate for massive sanctions against the warmongers and those who profit from it through bribes. On the other hand, as soon as specific issues are resolved, all efforts are dissipated and hidden in executive procedures. Nothing happens: leaders make impressive speeches, but the decision freezes somewhere.

Let me give you some examples. How is it possible that Alexey Miller, the head of Gazprom, Putin’s most trusted gangster since the 90s, the man who literally stole Gazprom, and now sponsors Putin’s family and mistresses, is not on the European sanctions list? Who will explain to me why the head of “Rosneft” Sesin is on this list, but Miller is not?

Putin, Secin and Miller worked in the same office in the St. Petersburg City Hall, they are close friends; the last two run a state-owned company, both gangsters. Why is Miller free to travel around Europe? The EU immediately imposed sanctions against the fictitious “hatman” of the Supreme Don Army and this guy with a rifle. In other words, we will no longer be able to see them at the billionaire club in Porto Cervo, nor their private jets landing in Milan. But Miller can still do it.

Read the rest on Contributors.ro