The most effective punishment for large businessmen in such cases – and Fedyaev’s fault here is that he trusted his subordinates too much – is the “ruble”. Such situations are resolved with a lot of money, which still has to be shared with the state and people. So they would have given Fedyaev, in addition to being free, to atone for what he had done with money. Let the whole city of Belovo, where Listvyazhnaya is located, “lick” it. He is building houses and infrastructure there, new housing for ordinary people. Let him plow there for years. His money is needed not in prison, but outside.
The point of having a businessman behind bars, according to the political scientist, is purely PR. The authorities are forced to fully promote cases that will evoke the unequivocal approval of the common people. And an oligarch behind bars is a 100% hit. On the other hand, this is a clear signal to big businesses: while they are in their homeland, they are risking their freedom.
In contrast to the lifestyle of two or three houses abroad, which is common among big business, Fedyaev spent 95 percent of his time in Kuzbass. And unlike this circle of “Moscow oligarchs,” he had no intention of fleeing Russia to the West. Although he had such an opportunity – almost a month from the moment of the tragedy at the mine until his arrest.
https://www.ng.ru/vision/2022-02-03/100_153703022022.html
The power of PR: why do the authorities need an oligarch behind bars?
Following the events in Ukraine, the high-profile case surrounding the tragedy at the Listvyazhnaya mine has disappeared from public view. And also around the figure of the co-owner of this mine (and other assets in the SDS holding), entrepreneur Mikhail Fedyaev. And this is a very important matter, first of all…
“ВЧК ОГПУ”
