Senior Kremlin official resigns in wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

An adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin has become the first senior Kremlin official to resign since the invasion of Ukraine, Putin’s spokesman said on Wednesday

Anatoly Chubais resigned from his position as Russia’s envoy to international organisations and sustainable development of his own choice.

Bloomberg broke the story first, citing two people familiar with the situation as saying Chubais had left Russia due to his opposition to the war.

Chubais served in high business and political roles under Putin and was a key architect of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin’s economic reforms in the 1990s. Since 2020, he has served as Putin’s special envoy to international organizations, where he also served as climate envoy.

His resignation comes in the wake of widespread international condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. There has also been some domestic opposition within Russia as a result of international sanctions and boycotts, though Putin has responded with a crackdown on dissent.

Chubais’ resignation would be the first sign of public discord within the country’s ruling elite.

Arkady Dvorkovich, a former deputy prime minister who had previously condemned Putin’s invasion, resigned as chair of the famed tech-focused Skolkovo Foundation last week. Furthermore, once Western nations moved to censure and seize their assets, numerous Russian oligarchs — billionaires with apparent ties to the Kremlin — have broken ranks to denounce the war.

Putin spoke out against the “scum and traitors” inside Russia who opposed the war, and called for a “necessary self-detoxification of society” in comments last week. Some experts took that as a threat to Russian elites who may be privately against the invasion.