111–120 of 151 posts
to me, this sounds ominously like Abramovich doesn't think he'll be spending much time in the UK over the next few years. In other words, the situation in Russia has spun out of control even for the oligarchs.
to me, this sounds ominously like Abramovich doesn't think he'll be spending much time in the UK over the next few years. In other words, the situation in Russia has spun out of control even for the oligarchs.
This war just makes 0 sense to me. Are things so horrible in Russia they feel they need to invade and subjugate another country? I realize you could make the same argument for the US invasion of Afganistan, or Iraq, or many many other idiotic blunders the US political class has made to undermine the US's ability to weigh in on these sorts of situations. I suppose the difference is that Ukraine is a healthy liberal de…
The only plausible explanation I've heard (other than Putin is just mentally ill), is that Putin has gotten high on his own supply of propaganda. He truly believes that Ukraine is being run by Nazis, and the US/West are building up to a Russian invasion. Supposedly during Covid, it's gotten a lot worse due to Putin's extreme isolation tactics. He's been truly surrounded solely by yes men over the past 2 years.
Or maybe he is terminally ill. Just by coincidence, I just read "Red War". Eerily similar story line.
At first it was "this will be put into a trust" as if that solves the problem of the club being owned by an oligarch. Now it's "it will be sold but not fast-tracked and the proceeds given to a foundation." Why not just transfer it to a foundation along with the debts? The weasel-wording and slow-rolling gives the appearance of an attempt to evade consequences.
That wouldn’t be a very responsible thing to do.
How are the foundation going to service the debts? How can they prove they have the capital to both run the club and pay Roman back? It wouldn’t be possible. Chelsea runs at a loss which Roman just writes off most years, a foundation can’t do that.
>Moreover, I have instructed my team to set up a charitable foundation where all net proceeds from the sale will be donated. The foundation will be for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine. That's quite the statement coming from one of Russia's biggest oligarch.
No, his statement clearly follows and enforces Putin's propaganda narrative of the separation between suffering people of Ukraine whom Russia supposedly came to "liberate" and the supposedly illegitimate "Hunta" government whom Russia is supposedly fighting.
Basically Abramovich managed to buy himself a grace period in England to be able to weasel out without devastating losses (and to save his bottom from the future war crimes trial). The guy in reality is total sh%t and is fully responsible for what happens in Ukraine like the rest of the Putin's oligarchs.
Abramovich is on the top of the list.
This list is a primary starting focus of Western govs to sanction Putin cronies. I hope Abramovich et al loose everything, not only for this war, but for robbing Russia and its people of their natural resources wealth.
The guy is giving away £3 billion+ to charity and writing off a £1.5 billion loan, and yet the whole thread is looking for holes in the short statement. Nice gesture I say as he didn’t start the war.
At first it was "this will be put into a trust" as if that solves the problem of the club being owned by an oligarch. Now it's "it will be sold but not fast-tracked and the proceeds given to a foundation." Why not just transfer it to a foundation along with the debts? The weasel-wording and slow-rolling gives the appearance of an attempt to evade consequences.
Context for people unfamiliar with football/soccer: Roman Abramovich is a Russian oligarch who grew rich in the 90s by buying state owned companies at rigged auctions. He was close to the previous President Yeltsin and allegedly recommended that Yeltsin appoint Putin as his successor. His relations with Putin have remained cordial with Putin unlike some other oligarchs like Mikhail Khordokovsky, who crossed Putin and…