Russia’s elite are more accurately referred to as ‘tycoons’ of certain industries instead of oligarchs because they lack political influence, an expert says

• The media has largely referred to sanctioned Russian billionaires as “oligarchs.”
• But given their lack of political influence, an expert says it’s better to call them “tycoons.”
• Because of this, some experts don’t think sanctions will change Putin’s mind about the invasion.

Mainstream media has largely referred to the sanctioned billionaires during the Russia-Ukraine war as “oligarchs,” but “tycoon” might be more accurate considering their lack of political influence, an expert told Insider.

At least 38 members of Putin’s inner circle have been hit with sanctions by the US, the UK, and the EU, resulting in the seizure of their valuable assets.

William Courtney, an adjunct senior fellow at RAND Corporation and a former US ambassador, told Insider that billionaires are — at this point in history — “tycoons” of various industries, like coal, oil, and energy.

“There are a number of these tycoons that are active today — some of whom have had their yachts seized in Europe in recent days, but they don’t have political influence the way the oligarchs did in the 1990s,” Courtney said during a phone call with Insider in March.

Courtney noted that Russia’s tycoons haven’t had “much political influence” since Putin rose as Russia’s leader in 2000.

Under the former Russian President Boris Yeltsin, oligarchs played their hand in politics, but Putin changed the game — forcing the billionaires to serve and remain subservient to the Kremlin, Insider reported. Oligarchs that didn’t follow his rules ended up in jail, sent to exile, likely poisoned, or dead. 

“The basic deal was that they could keep their wealth in exchange for subservience,” Simon Miles, an assistant professor of Slavic and Eurasian Studies at Duke University, previously told Insider.

Because of this, some experts don’t think they’ll change Putin’s mind about the invasion.

Tom Keatinge, the director of financial crimes and security studies at the Royal United Services Institute, told CNN that the sanctions are “symbolic” and compared them to a “PR exercise.”

Similarly, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an exiled Russian oligarch, claimed oligarchs are “just Putin’s footmen” and “cannot influence him.”

But Courtney maintained that the sanctions will still likely hit Russia’s economy hard. He compared it to 2014, when the West imposed milder sanctions on Russia following the country’s occupation of Ukraine’s Crimea region.

“The new sanctions are probably going to have more than 10 times that impact,” Courtney said. “It’s going really be devastating for the economy.”