Two more billionaires, founders of American IT companies Veeam Software and Object First, Andrei Baronov and Ratmir Timashev, have renounced Russian citizenship following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to Forbes, they are now citizens of Cyprus. Barnov is now residing in Switzerland, and Timashev is in the United States, VisaGuide.World reports.
Andrei Baronov announced the submission of documents to renounce Russian citizenship last year, according to Forbes, while he wrote on his account on the social network LinkedIn.
I am a private person and never make public comments, especially about politics. “I make a rare exception because I am deeply shocked by the Russian … (“special operation” *. – replaced by Forbes) in Ukraine. I have officially submitted all the documents necessary to renounce Russian citizenship.
He expressed his concerns about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
I don’t want to be a citizen of a country whose leaders kidnap children, rape and rob civilians and almost daily indiscriminately fire thousands of missiles killing innocent people.
Baronov initiated the renunciation of Russian citizenship in April 2023, and the issue was resolved in December of the same year. At the same time, Ratmir Timashev renounced Russian citizenship in January 2024.
Russian Invasion of Ukraine Spurs Surge in Renounced Citizenship
Baronov and Timashev thus became the eighth and ninth businessmen among current and former members of the Forbes list who have renounced Russian citizenship since the beginning of 2022.
Previously, a similar decision was made by other billionaires, including the following ones: Timur Turlov (Freedom Holding), Nikolai Storonsky (Revolut), Yuri Milner (DST Global), Igor Makarov (Areti), Coalco founder Vasily Anisimov, Troika Dialog founder Ruben Vardanyan and former billionaire founder Tinkoff Bank Oleg Tinkov (recognized by the Ministry of Justice as a foreign agent).
According to Forbes, Andrei Baronov’s fortune is $770 million, and Ratmir Timashev’s is $680 million, as estimated by Forbes in 2020.
The basis of their fortune is the income from the sale of Veeam Software to the United States venture capital fund Insight Partners in 2020 for $5 billion.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in the first nine months of last year, a total of 4,400 people renounced Russian citizenship, according to Director of the Consular Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry Aleksey Klimov. He stressed that more than 15,000 people received Russian passports abroad.