Proekt investigation finds Russian officials flying on private jets apparently provided by oligarchs whose industries they oversee
Proekt has published an extensive investigation into senior Russian officials’ use of private jets. Its journalists examined a database from the border service of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) that leaked in 2023. It contained records of more than 100 million people who left Russia by air or other means in 2014–2023. The reporters spent a year analyzing international flight records for…
Proekt's investigation reveals that numerous Russian officials have been utilizing private jets, allegedly provided by oligarchs whose industries they oversee. The study analyzed a vast database containing records of more than 100 million people who traveled by air from Russia between 2014 and 2023. From this data, the reporters identified 1,064 senior Russian officials who flew abroad on business jets, with most doing so regularly. The average cost per flight was $32,000.
Among these officials, Leonid Slutsky, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, and Rustam Minnikhanov, head of Tatarstan, were found to fly most frequently on business jets. Each man and their relatives took a combined total of 350-360 such flights between 2014 and 2023. Additionally, 101 senior officials traveled at someone else's expense on planes likely provided by prominent businesspeople.
The investigation also found that officials are not hesitant to use business jets registered to state-owned companies for personal trips. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, for instance, took the most flights with oligarchs. Other officials who used private jets for personal travel include Sergey Kiriyenko, the Kremlin's first deputy chief of staff, who flew with his family to the Maldives on a Rosatom jet.
Officials have even been known to travel to Mount Athos, a monastic community in Greece, on private jets, including Kiriyenko, Moscow Governor Andrey Vorobyov, and former Prosecutor General Yury Chaika.
Interestingly, Russian officials have also been seen flying to religious sites, such as Mount Athos, on private jets, including Kiriyenko, Moscow Governor Andrey Vorobyov, and former Prosecutor General Yury Chaika. France is the most popular destination for Putin's elite, with seven of the 10 countries visited most frequently by officials between 2014 and 2023 being in Western and Southern Europe.
Furthermore, officials have been known to travel with relatives, businesspeople, and even figures from the criminal underworld, such as Communist lawmaker Boris Ivanyuzhenkov, who once belonged to a criminal gang and flew with leaders of various organized crime groups.
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