Possibly the best-known Russian Jewish oligarch is Roman Abramovich, who made his billions in oil, steel and mining following the breakup of state-owned businesses after the fall of the Soviet Union. “There’s also a trend among Russian-speaking Jewry of rediscovering a sense of Jewish identity that was denied to them when they were growing up and feeling a commitment towards it,” Spokoiny said.

And with the coming of age of a generation of Jews who were raised in the former Soviet Union, some who have made fortunes are starting to give back to their communities, and becoming an important force in Jewish philanthropy in recent years, according to Andres Spokoiny, CEO of the Jewish Funders Network. Overall, charitable giving has risen substantially among wealthy Russians in recent years. It can also be useful in enhancing the reputation of people who accumulated wealth in an environment plagued by corruption. In addition to simply allowing people with wealth to assert their values and strengthen the organizations they favor, philanthropy can be understood as a form of “cultural diplomacy” when practiced by people close to leaders like Putin. Many have also given to Chabad, the Hasidic Jewish outreach movement, in Russia, and to Moscow’s Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center. Their giving has shaped efforts to commemorate the Holocaust, inculcate Jewish identity and fight antisemitism. Those who enable the invasion of Ukraine will pay a price for their action.”Īt least 18 of the figures on “Putin’s list” are oligarchs with Jewish backgrounds, many of whom, as with the men behind the Genesis Philanthropy Group, have ramped up donations to Jewish charities around the world in recent years. “With these additional sanctions, we are targeting all who are having a significant economic role in supporting Putin’s regime, and benefit financially from the system,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement. “These sanctions will expose the wealth of Putin’s elite. A day after the gift’s announcement, the European Union added Fridman, Aven and several other Russian businessmen to its sanctions blacklist as part of its response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The gift is also significant because it comes as the West determines whether and how to penalize Putin’s allies by targeting their wealth.

But it is significant in part because it signals daylight between them and Putin, who on Thursday invaded Ukraine and plunged the region into crisis. The donation is small for the three billionaires behind Genesis Philanthropy Group - Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven and German Khan - who are together worth $21 billion. ( JTA ) – Jewish communities in Ukraine received a $10 million gift from a perhaps unlikely source Monday: a charitable organization founded by three Russian Jewish oligarchs who are being accused of having supported the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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