A staunch Kremlin critic described as Vladimir Putin's “enemy number one” has claimed the Russian president has stolen more than $1 trillion from his own people. In an opinion article published in Daily mailSir William Browder revealed how Putin went from a 'political weakling' to a 'monstrous dictator'. According to him, when Putin was appointed successor to Boris Yeltsin in 1999, he was virtually unknown outside Russian politics and even within the country his approval rating was low. He was regarded as a political weakling by both the public and the oligarchs who controlled the economy. But now, after a quarter of a century, no one sees him as a weakling, even if he lacks charisma, Mr. Browder said.
Mr. Browder, the founder and CEO of Hermitage Capital Management, an investment firm based in London, was one of the largest investors in Russia until he was banned from entering the country in 2005. Since then, he has become an outspoken critic and activist of the Kremlin, acquiring the status of “Putin's No. 1 enemy.”
In a recent essay for Daily mailMr Browder said Putin is clinging to power by waging an endless war. He called Putin the “embodiment of evil, a monstrous dictator who threatens a nuclear holocaust that could destroy Europe.” He also claimed that the Kremlin leader and his associates stole more than a trillion dollars from the Russians.
The number of Russian deaths and injuries from the so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine alone is approaching 800,000, Mr. Browder said. “The destruction he has caused in Russia for his personal gain is incalculable. This also applies to the wealth he plundered. A conservative estimate puts the amount he and a thousand of his associates stole at more than a trillion dollars,” he wrote.
Browder called Putin the “greatest gangster of them all.” He stated that under his rule he granted the oligarchs their freedom and protection in exchange for 50% of their wealth. According to him, the Kremlin leader plundered the public treasury, stealing money from the military, income taxes, education and healthcare budgets, infrastructure projects and all the public services that keep a country running. He also took revenge on anyone who dared to challenge his methods. “All Russians, like Putin himself, have become hostages of a kleptocracy, a dictatorship that exists to steal,” he said.
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According to the Kremlin critic, Putin must keep the country in a state of permanent siege and paranoia to prevent the Russians from turning against him. “If overthrown, the 72-year-old would have nowhere on the planet to take safe refuge, despite his staggering fortune. He would be extradited to Russia, thrown in prison, tried and almost certainly executed,” he said.
In the article, Mr. Browder further wrote that if the West continues to underestimate him, by allowing him to make an agreement that ends the conflict in Ukraine, he will wage war against us – through covert means such as sabotage and terrorism, through economic methods and, if this is not enough, by unleashing an armed attack on a NATO country that will plunge us into World War III.”
“The only deal Putin will accept is one of total capitulation and the collapse of Ukraine. The only deal Putin is ever interested in is one where he takes everything. Too often, the leaders of the West have not understood this,” he said.