Large Russian companies have this year increased or resumed previously suspended dividend payments to their owners. The billion-dollar dividends indicate a decreased concern in the Russian business community about the economic effects of the invasion war against Ukraine.
A dozen Russian oligarchs have so far this year received more than 1,000 billion rubles (approximately 120 billion kronor) in dividends for 2023's results and in some cases for the first quarter of this year, according to a compilation made by the news agency Bloomberg.
Many of the largest oligarchs have close ties to Russia's President Vladimir Putin and some of them are also on Western sanctions lists.
Lukoil's Alekperov tops the list
The person on the list who has received the most in dividends this year is Vagit Alekperov, major owner and former CEO of the Russian oil company Lukoil. He has received 186 billion rubles in dividends.
Alekperov is on British and Australian sanctions lists, but has so far not appeared on the US and EU lists.
Aleksey Mordashov, major owner of Severstal, and Vladimir Lisin, major owner of Novolipetsk Steel, are two others who have received significant dividends this year, with payouts of 148 billion and 121 billion, respectively. Mordashov is on sanctions lists in the US, UK, and EU.
Gennady Timchenko – former major owner of Torbjörn Törnqvist's oil trading company Gunvor Group – is also on Bloomberg's top list of Russian oligarchs who have received the most in dividends. He has brought home 79 billion rubles from the companies Novatek and Sibur.
Growth of 5.4 percent
The Russian economy immediately went into recession after the invasion war against Ukraine began in 2022, but has since recovered as consumption of weapons, fuel, ammunition, and other equipment for the Ukraine war has taken off.
Russia's GDP grew by 5.4 percent during the first quarter of this year compared to the first quarter of 2023, and many of the large raw materials companies have redirected their exports to countries like China and India, which have not imposed any sanctions due to the Ukraine war.
State-controlled companies like gas giant Gazprom and major bank Sberbank never paused their dividend payments and have racked up record profits in the shadow of the war. Sberbank's owners received a dividend of 752 billion rubles last month.
