Sanctioned by the West, the magnate calls for a change in the country's course.
The founder of the largest metallurgical holding "Rusal," Oleg Deripaska, has harshly criticized the state of the Russian economy and the measures taken to combat inflation. In his opinion, all sensible and business-minded people in the country share a similar view: "We are just stupidly losing everything that we managed to mobilize in 2022–2023 through such hard and persistent work. There is some kind of absurdly primitive experiment going on, which will end in the bankruptcy of thousands of companies and enterprises that are quite capable of working for the benefit of our God-chosen country." Deripaska believes that no one in the business community understands how high rates on predatory loans from state banks and the "absolutely insane overvaluation of the national currency" will help reduce prices on goods from the consumer basket. "The whole country is scratching its head. Where are these smart people who will explain how the price of chicken or eggs in June 2026 will be lower than it was in November 2025," Deripaska writes in his blog.
In December, he shared a recipe for accelerating the Russian economy and demanded a collapse of the ruble's exchange rate. According to the businessman, who is among the top 40 richest people in Russia with a net worth of $4.1 billion, the necessary exchange rate for the economy is 105 rubles per dollar. With a cheap ruble, as the businessman believes, business in Russia will begin to develop rapidly, for example, the automotive industry (before the imposition of sanctions, he owned the GAZ group). A similar position was previously expressed by Alexander Shokhin, head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. In December, he stated that an optimal exchange rate for Russian business would be at the level of 90–95 rubles per dollar. Shokhin noted that a strong ruble restrains inflation, but at the same time reduces the income of exporters and budget revenues.
This is another post by Deripaska criticizing Russian policy. The most high-profile statement by Deripaska was made in March 2022 when he called the invasion of Ukraine "madness." After that, the businessman was asked at least twice by the Kremlin to stop criticizing the war, The Financial Times reported. Also, last year, the billionaire criticized the Russian authorities for "terrorizing" private business and not allowing it to work in the field of artificial intelligence, which he considers the fourth technological revolution. At that time, he predicted an "isolated internet" and technological backwardness for Russia.
Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska (born January 2, 1968, Dzerzhinsk) is a Russian entrepreneur, billionaire, chairman of the supervisory board (from 2009 to 2012 — general director) and founder of the company "Basic Element." He was the head of the united company "Rusal" (until 2018) and En+ Group (until 2017). He was the chairman of the board of directors of the company "Russian Aluminum" (2000–2007), president of the company "Siberian Aluminum" (1997–2001), and general director of the Sayansk Aluminum Plant (1994–1997).
In 2008, Deripaska's fortune was estimated at $28 billion. He was the richest Russian and ranked 9th in the world billionaire ranking by Forbes magazine. As of January 2018, Deripaska was ranked 247th with a net worth of $7.1 billion. In December 2019, he topped the Forbes ranking of Russian entrepreneurs whose fortunes had decreased the most over the past decade. According to the magazine, Deripaska's fortune fell from $10.7 billion in 2010 to $4 billion by the end of 2019.
In 2017, Deripaska obtained citizenship of Cyprus, which he lost in April 2022 due to being included in EU sanctions.
Since April 2018, he has been under U.S. sanctions for "financing Putin's projects," and since 2022, he has been under sanctions from the European Union, the United Kingdom, and several other countries due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
