You don't amass a billion-dollar fortune in a country infamous for
corruption and inefficient industries by ignoring the political winds.
No one has more to lose from the campaign by Ukraine's pro-Russia separatists than a handful of men who have grown rich off the mines and factories in the country's east. They largely have been quiet during the months of unrest racking the nation, knowing that they depend on markets in Russia and that they might need to reach an accommodation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who already has annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula.
So the moves this week by two oligarchs to back the Ukrainian government against the separatists, coinciding with a cooling of rhetoric from Moscow, could prove to be a key moment in the dispute.
Though some of Ukraine's wealthiest magnates continue to sit on the fence, a strong stance by the country's richest man in favor of a unified Ukraine might be an indication that he feels the threat of direct Russian intervention is fading.
In the port city of Mariupol this week, the unarmed steelworkers of Metinvest who appeared on the streets in their orange hard hats and company-issued gray coveralls were for many residents a welcome change from menacing pro-Russia gunmen.
The only question for many in the city of 500,000 is why it took so long for factory owners to act. Some labor leaders in the region said they had been waiting for just such a sign that the magnates would be behind them in opposing the separatists.
Read more: 2 Ukraine oligarchs speak up for unity, against pro-Russia faction - Los Angeles Times
No one has more to lose from the campaign by Ukraine's pro-Russia separatists than a handful of men who have grown rich off the mines and factories in the country's east. They largely have been quiet during the months of unrest racking the nation, knowing that they depend on markets in Russia and that they might need to reach an accommodation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who already has annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula.
So the moves this week by two oligarchs to back the Ukrainian government against the separatists, coinciding with a cooling of rhetoric from Moscow, could prove to be a key moment in the dispute.
Though some of Ukraine's wealthiest magnates continue to sit on the fence, a strong stance by the country's richest man in favor of a unified Ukraine might be an indication that he feels the threat of direct Russian intervention is fading.
In the port city of Mariupol this week, the unarmed steelworkers of Metinvest who appeared on the streets in their orange hard hats and company-issued gray coveralls were for many residents a welcome change from menacing pro-Russia gunmen.
The only question for many in the city of 500,000 is why it took so long for factory owners to act. Some labor leaders in the region said they had been waiting for just such a sign that the magnates would be behind them in opposing the separatists.
Read more: 2 Ukraine oligarchs speak up for unity, against pro-Russia faction - Los Angeles Times
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