Vladimir’s son, a very powerful former head of Russian railways and former KGB, has invested in Umbria. According to Italian intelligence, in the estates of his neighbors, the Lebedevs, there was also a possible dossier on Boris Johnson, do you know anything about it? “I’m in a different line of business”
Did the Russians not want this war, only Vladimir Putin wanted it? «To answer this question I would have had to do a course of study in anthropology and sociology. But I can certainly tell you that nowhere in the world can no sane person say they want a war, the destruction of their home, the lives of their children at risk ».
How do the Russians live the attack on Ukraine against their cousins? “One of my best friends has a Ukrainian wife, and until a week ago he would never have thought it possible to get to where he is. There will be plenty of time then to decide and to understand who was right and who was wrong, the important thing now is that there are no more or losses of life, and that the conflict is stopped as soon as possible. It will be difficult to re-establish relations between nations, the only thing that cannot be done is to restore life to those who have lost it ».
Who speaks like this, without pronouncing on Putin and his military and political choices, but expressing himself in this so-called “humanitarian” form against the conflict unleashed by Russia in Ukraine is Andrey Yakunin, son of Vladimir Yakunin (the former head of Russian railways , a powerful oligarch and former KGB just like Putin, as well as founder of the think tank Dialogue of Civilizations, one of the organizations that in recent years have organized conferences and events in the West to support and disseminate Orthodox and Eurasian culture and Russian influence). Andrey Yakunin speaks in front of the camera of an Umbrian media, Umbria24, the region where he is at home: an estate – Antognolla – is owned by Vladimir’s son, which includes (according to the launch release of the operation) a resort with an 18-hole golf course and a luxury hotel with 100 rooms. Close to Antognolla, separated by a small road of a few kilometers, there is one of the two Umbrian estates of Evgheny Lebedev, son of Alexander (KGB colonel in London in the years when Putin was in Dresden, then a banker), the famous villas of the alleged parties with Boris Johnson defined “red light” by Italian intelligence, in a document provided to members of Copasir and the then Conte government (Lebedev did not want to reply to our requests for comment). But the young Yakunin will say he has nothing to do with the Lebedevs.
In this interview in front of a video camera, however, it is relevant that another member of a very powerful Russian family gets rid of the war, albeit in a truly stealthy way. The circle of oligarchs closest to Putin has already expressed distinctions, anti-war positions, expressed unease, even if only for fear of being hit by sanctions. In recent days Mikhail Fridman (who was actually severely sanctioned on February 28), Oleg Deripaska (sanctioned in America for interference in the US elections that led to Donald Trump’s victory), Roman Abramovich had separated from Chelsea presidency saying to do it for the good of the club at a time like this, and her daughter Sophia wrote anti-war posts too (later toned down and sweetened with more cautious editing).
The words of Andrey Yakunin a Umbria24 they seem to manifest a not so different discomfort. He is asked about his father Vladimir in the KGB. He replies: «I don’t know if the fact of having worked with the secret services can be considered a good thing or a bad thing. Other media have spoken of him as a general, which in reality is not true ». But what is his relationship with his father? «Surely fifty percent of my genes are his – Andrey tries to make a joke -. I don’t know what relationship he has with Putin, Putin was the wise governor, my father worked in another role. Americans have a nice expression, “nothing personal, it’s just business”. “
War is a major obstacle to business: “For anyone who works in our business globally, an unstable situation as we have now means having financial problems, whatever ethnicity, origin, or origin one has.” To what extent are the Russians willing to accept this condition? “Good question. I work with amazing people who are doing everything to maintain this situation, hoping and praying that the situation will [in Ucraina] get back to normal as soon as possible. If the situation remains critical, it is not the first club that ends », sighs A. Yakunin.
He is asked if the Russians do not feel in a position to say what they think, and he replies: «I am happy to come from St. Petersburg, a city that has never bowed down before anyone, and probably never will. Unfortunately, I have friends who have participated in the protests that have taken place and who have received fines for taking part in these events ».
But on sanctions, he argues that the problem will affect ordinary people: “Inevitably, whenever there are sanctions against a country, they also affect ordinary people, and this is the worst part of the situation. Pensioners who live on a pension of 300, or at most 350 euros, and who in the space of one night lose 30% of the economic power of the money they had aside ». No reflection on how much the oligarchs have contributed to these dramatic inequalities, and how much Putin has contributed to this worsening of the economic conditions of the Russians.
Is it possible that there was some dossier in the Umbrian estates of the Russian magnates? [per esempio contro Boris Johnson, allora capo del Foreign Office, oggi premier britannico?] “Well, I’m in a different line of business,” smiles Andrey Yakunin with a joke. “There is a saying in Russia,” It is better to see it once with your own eyes than to hear it from others seven times. ” Any secret activity should be so secret that you don’t even know anything about it. Sometimes, one hopes to at least know what is going on in one’s company ». And about the Lebedevs, he explains: «I don’t know Mr. Lebedev. I know that he runs one of the most important and innovative banks in Russia. When he was in NRP everyone wanted to work for this company. But none of my projects have had NRP funding ». Do the Russians still like Putin? “If early elections had been called, it would have been an opportunity to see what the Russians think of Putin today,” is the enigmatic answer.
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