An article published by The New York Times revealed that the Emirati city of Dubai has become a refuge for the Russian economic elite, who were forced by war conditions to go out and search for prospects for the success of large investments, highlighting that the wealthy of Russia are still rich despite everything.
The newspaper quoted Russian investors as talking about an encouraging atmosphere to come to Dubai, perhaps the most important of which is the absence of anti-Russian positions, as is the case in Europe, in addition to the fact that they are not worried about being recruited to fight in Ukraine, in addition to the fact that direct flights between the UAE and Russia continued without interruption.
The article indicated that the "Russian diaspora" in Dubai includes billionaires who have been affected by Western sanctions, and members of the middle class, as well as small investors who have worked to open medium-sized commercial projects in the Emirati city.
Some small investors with low incomes come from the world of art, technology and employees of Western companies that have moved their activities from Moscow to Dubai.
And a number of them are afraid to return to Russia for fear of conscription or being prevented from leaving, while a number of others confirmed that they left Russia because of their opposition to the war.
attractions
He said that a number of Russians who spoke to the New York Times confirmed that one of the most important attractions in Dubai is the absence of any trace of the Ukraine war "which seems far away", as there are no Ukrainian flags for sale, and there are no demonstrations in solidarity with the Ukrainians, and whoever has anti-Russian feelings keeps it for himself.
The New York Times article stated that the presence of the wealthy Russians in Dubai after they were isolated from the West showed how President Vladimir Putin was able to preserve the "social contract", which is the key to the support he gets locally, and is to allow those close to power to accumulate wealth in exchange for loyalty.
The newspaper quoted political expert Ekaterina Skolman as saying that this "new contract" between Putin and the Russian economic elite can be understood as a mandate for it to exploit opportunities in friendly countries, with a pledge not to pursue legal charges on corruption charges, and this can be considered a "formal compensation" for them after their isolation from the West. Following the outbreak of the Russian war on Ukraine.
But publicly - the New York Times explains - Putin urged the Russian economic elites to focus their investments in their country, and stressed, for example, in his speech on the "state of the nation" last month the need for the wealthy to return their material assets to the homeland, instead of considering Russia as a mere "source of income" but from abroad.
first destination
The American newspaper said that its analysis of flight records last spring revealed that the Emirates became the first destination for private flights outside Russia, during the first weeks after the outbreak of the war on Ukraine.
She added that the Russian government figures - for its part - show that the Russians made 1.2 million trips to the UAE in 2022, compared to one million trips in 2019.