Want to Understand Russia? Visit Dubai.
He and his wife, the pop star known as Valeriya, 'know everyone,' he told me. That includes the 'generals and criminals' who once harmoniously shared a table at a concert of hers in Crimea.
'That's Russia, my friend,' Mr. Prighozin said.
We were tucking into chicken and sea bass on the 25th floor of the skyscraper-resort in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where Mr. Prighozin and Valeriya own two apartments. There was a three-story 'longevity hub' somewhere above us and a 'global street food' spot through a tunnel of faux graffiti somewhere below us. Later, on the pool deck, suspended between two skyscrapers and 300 feet above vast roads and malls and building sites, Valeriya lip-synced for Instagram.
You can learn a lot about Russia by coming to Dubai, which hasn't joined the West's sanctions against Russia and has replaced London and Switzerland as a refuge of choice for Moscow's wealthy. Here you will find Russian elites who never imagined that their president, Vladimir V. Putin, would invade Ukraine — and then found themselves too enmeshed in Mr. Putin's system to abandon him.
Mr. Prigozhin — no relation to his assassinated acquaintance, the mutineer Yevgeny V. Prigozhin — is one of them, a fast-talking attention magnet whose celebrity straddles politics and pop culture in Russia. I'd been curious to talk to him for two years, ever since a recording turned up online of his purported call with a former Russian senator in which both men are heard slamming Mr. Putin.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Oil Extends Gain as Trump Ratchets Up Tariffs Before Russia Move
Oil rose a second day as President Donald Trump declared 30% tariffs on imports from the European Union and Mexico over the weekend, ahead of a ' major statement ' on Russia. Brent gained as much as 0.6% — after adding 2.5% on Friday — to trade near $71 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate was near $69. Trump said the rates on Mexico and the EU would start Aug. 1, dashing optimism that 11th-hour agreements could be reached in a threat to oil demand.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
EU envoys near agreement on lower Russian oil price cap
By Julia Payne BRUSSELS (Reuters) -European Union envoys are on the verge of agreeing an 18th package of sanctions against Russia for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine that would include a lower price cap on Russian oil, four EU sources said after a Sunday meeting. The sources said all the elements of the package had been agreed, although one member state still has a technical reservation on the new cap. The sources - speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential talks - said they expect to reach a full agreement on Monday, ahead of a foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels the following day that could formally approve the package. The sources said they had also agreed to a dynamic price mechanism for the price cap. On Friday, the European Commission proposed a floating price cap on Russian oil of 15% below the average market price of crude in the previous three months. One of the sources said the initial price would be around $47 a barrel based on the average price of Russian crude for the last 22 weeks minus 15%. Further, the price would be revised based on the average oil price every six months instead of the proposed three months. Slovakia - which has held up the proposed package - is still seeking reassurances from the European Commission on its concerns about plans to phase out Russian gas supply but it has agreed to the new measures, the sources said. Sanctions require unanimity among the EU's member countries to be adopted. The Group of Seven (G7) price cap, aimed at curbing Russia's ability to finance the war in Ukraine, was originally agreed in December 2022. The European Union and Britain have been pushing the G7 to lower the cap for the last two months after a fall in oil futures made the current $60 a barrel level largely irrelevant. The cap bans trade in Russian crude oil transported by tankers if the price paid was above $60 per barrel and prohibits shipping, insurance and re-insurance companies from handling cargoes of Russian crude around the globe, unless it is sold for less than the price cap. The Commission proposed the package in early June, aimed at further cutting Moscow's energy revenues, including a ban on transactions with Russia's Nord Stream gas pipelines, and financial network that helps it circumvent sanctions. Another one of the sources said the new package will list a Russian-owned refinery in India, two Chinese banks, and a flag registry. Russia has used flags of convenience for its shadow fleet of ships and oil tankers.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
US senators aim to arm Trump with 'sledgehammer' sanctions against Russia
US senators on Sunday touted a bipartisan bill that would arm President Donald Trump with "sledgehammer" sanctions to use against Russia, ahead of a visit by the US special envoy to Ukraine. Trump has indicated he would be open to the sanctions bill as relations with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin grow increasingly frosty. US special envoy Keith Kellogg is due to begin his latest visit to Ukraine while Trump said he would make a "major statement... on Russia" on Monday. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said he had majority backing in the Senate for his bill, which was gaining momentum as Washington-led peace efforts in Ukraine have struggled to make headway. The bill would allow Trump "to go after Putin's economy, and all those countries who prop up the Putin war machine," Graham told broadcaster CBS news. Trump, who has repeatedly said he is "disappointed" with Putin as Moscow unleashed deadly barrages of missiles against Kyiv, has hinted he might finally be ready to toughen sanctions. Trump held off for the past six months while he tried to persuade Putin to end the war. But the Republican president's patience appears to be wearing thin, telling reporters during a cabinet meeting at the White House Tuesday that Putin was talking "a lot of bullshit" on Ukraine. Last week, Trump also agreed to send Zelensky more weapons, including through a deal with NATO which would involve the alliance purchasing US weapons to send to Ukraine. On Thursday, Trump appeared to back the bill without detailing whether he would use it to slap sanctions on Moscow. "They're going to pass a very major and very biting sanctions bill, but it's up to the president as to whether or not he wants to exercise it," Trump told broadcaster NBC. Asked during a cabinet meeting about his interest in the bill, Trump said: "I'm looking at it very strongly." "This congressional package that we're looking at would give President Trump the ability to impose 500% tariffs on any country that helps Russia," said Graham, adding that those could include economies that purchase Russian goods like China, India or Brazil. "This is truly a sledgehammer available to President Trump to end this war," said Graham. "Without a doubt, this is exactly the kind of leverage that can bring peace closer and make sure diplomacy is not empty," the Ukrainian leader said about the proposed bill in an X post. Graham and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal were to meet NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Monday night. Blumenthal told CBS news they would also discuss the legally thorny issue of unlocking frozen Russian assets in Europe and the United States for access by Ukraine. "The $5 billion that the United States has also could be accessed, and I think it's time to do it," said Blumenthal. aks/sla Sign in to access your portfolio
