No oligarchs here: Kremlin rejects claims moneyed Russian moguls swaying Belarus politics

Peskov

MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/: Russia does not have any oligarchs who wield their financial clout in order to influence politics, said Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov Wednesday.

The press secretary’s reply came on the heels of a reporter’s request to comment on a statement by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko who earlier said that "money from Russian oligarchs" is allegedly being used to bankroll the opposition in the former Soviet republic.

"We do not know about any oligarchs, or about their existence," the presidential press secretary said.

As Peskov noted, entrepreneurs with political aspirations and who seek to spend their money on influencing politics were generally called oligarchs.

"I do not know about the existence of oligarchs in our country. That is the first thing. And I also do not know what they could do in Belarus. That is the second thing," Peskov emphasized.