Russian Vice Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich has made the bold claim in an interview with Bloomberg TV that, at present, there are no oligarchs in Russia, only “socially responsible businessmen”.

Defending his dubious assertion, Dvorkovich stated that the concept of oligarchs was a 1990s phenomenon that no longer holds true in contemporary Russia. Where the US sees Russian oligarchs, the Russian government sees “hardworking, socially responsible businessmen who are concerned for the country and who want to make money while engaging in legitimate and responsible business.”

Dvorkovich made the surprising comment on the sidelines of the recent economic forum in Davos, when asked about how Russian oligarchs are feeling in the context of the potential imposition of economic sanctions against them by the USA. In response, Dvorkovich admitted that sanctions may make life difficult, but that does not mean that it is impossible to get by. When asked about the potential of sanctions getting much worse for Russia, he replied: “We are worried about people, not sanctions.”

In the interview with Bloomberg TV, Dvorkovich was also asked whether he deemed it possible to modernise the Russian economy while stifling political competition in the country. Dvorkovich defended the Russian political system and its competitiveness, citing the number of political parties in existence, while also defending the strength of the presidency.

While the threat of vicious US sanctions has loomed large over the Russian political and business elite over the last few weeks, the Trump administration’s refusal to impose sanctions on high-ranking Russian politicians and businessmen following the publishing of the ‘Kremlin Report’ has left the Russian elite breathing a sigh of relief.