Russian magnates collected billions of dollars in , as their companies repeated or increased payments amid the retreat of economic uncertainty, due to the Kremlin in Ukraine. At least twelve businessmen won more than 1 trillion rubles (11.3 billion dollars) for 2023 and the first quarter of this year, according to Bloomberg. Many of them have close ties to President Vladimir Putin and include some who have been sanctioned for the war he now has in his third year. The list also includes Putin’s billionaire ally, Genadi Timchenko (Genady Timchenko) and Tatiana Litvimenko (Tatiana Litvinenko), who received a share in PhosAgro before imposing sanctions on her husband Vladimir from the US in 2023. Vladimir Litvinenko is rector of St. Petersburg Mining University, where Putin received a PhD in 1997, and was in charge of the president’s election campaign in the city during three election contests. The US and their allies imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia in response to the February 2022 invasion, prompting many companies to discontinue dividend payments due to uncertainty of a possible economic collapse. These fears were not confirmed, as the Russian economy gradually adapted to the new circumstances and exporters found alternative markets. After shrinking in the year following the start of the war, Russia’s economy recovered sharply, as the government spent massively to expand the defence industry, shield domestic operations from the consequences of sanctions and provide social support to families. Gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 5.4% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year. Many exporters of raw materials reiterated the payment of dividends following the restructuring of their operations and the reorientation of sales to the markets of China, India and other countries in the World South that have not implemented sanctions due to the war in Ukraine. Many companies controlled by the state, such as Gazprom Neft PJSC and Russia’s largest bank Sberbank PJSC, never stopped paying dividends, as they collected record profits during the war. Sberbank shareholders approved last month a record of 752 billion rubles in dividends for 2023. However, Russia’s economy can face major problems in the second half of the year and in 2025, which may prompt the government to increase taxes, according to Chris Weafer, CEO of Macro-Advisory. For many business owners, “it is better to make the money now than risk losing it in next year’s taxes,” he said. “Company faces increasing difficulties regarding payments that may lead to deficiencies in industrial components and consumer goods,” he added. This comes after the rise in US threats to impose secondary sanctions on banks in countries that Russia considers to be “friendly”. American sanctions on the Moscow Stock Exchange last month forced it to stop trading in dollars and euros. The Ministry of Finance increased last month its estimate of the 2024 budget deficit to 2.12 trillion rubles, or 1.1% of GDP, from 1,595 trillion rubles. With inflation running at more than twice the 4% target, the Bank of Russia may increase the base rate up to 200 basis points later this month from 16% now. Another problem facing Russian magnates is where to invest their portions, since sanctions forced many to turn to the domestic market. In May, private investors invested 116.3 billion rubles in the Moscow Stock Exchange, a monthly record so far for 2024. Investments in Russian industries jumped 14.5% annually in the first quarter and reached a record of nearly 6 trillion rubles, according to the data of the central bank. However, domestic opportunities are limited. “There is just too much uncertainty for magnates to make big investments right now”, especially when they can get high interest rates from Russian banks on ruble deposits, Weafer said. “For most, the prudent course of action is to wait”.