Anatoly Chubais, the architect of Russia's post-Soviet economic reforms, has quit his post as a Kremlin special envoy and left the country, a source has told Reuters, in the highest profile protest by a Russian figure against the Ukraine invasion.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Chubais, who once served as former president Boris Yeltsin's chief of staff, left his post as President Vladimir Putin's special representative for ties with international organisations, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
He was appointed to the post, which was charged with "achieving goals of sustainable development," in 2020 days after resigning as the head of state technology firm RUSNANO which he had run since 2008.
The source did not say why he decided to leave the country.
Asked to comment by a Reuters reporter, Chubais hung up his phone.
Many Russians blame Chubais for allowing a small group of tycoons to enrich themselves in the privatisations of the 1990s while millions of Russians were left in poverty amid economic collapse and crisis.
In recent years he continued to call for economic reform and was one of the most high-profile liberals associated with the Russian government.
In 2010 he warned that the rise of fascism was Russia's single biggest threat and could rip the country apart.
Australian Associated Press
