Putin's political party suggests nationalizing Western companies

Russia should nationalize the operations of Western companies withdrawing from the country in response to its invasion of Ukraine, said an official.

Andrei Truchak, the secretary of the general council of the dominant United Russia party, said the move would prevent job losses and help retain the domestic production of goods, reports The Wall Street Journal.

“This is an extreme measure, but we will not tolerate stabs in the back, and we will defend our people,” Mr. Turchak on the party’s website. “This is a real war, and not just against Russia as a whole, but against our citizens. We will take tough retaliatory measures, acting under the laws of wartime.”

United Russia is the largest political party in Russia and fiercely aligned with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It holds 326 of the 450 seats in the State Duma, and has held the majority in the lower chamber since 2007.

Many Western companies have cut ties with Russia since but most manufacture outside the country. Among the companies that have halted production at plants in Russia are car-makers Toyota and Volkswagen, reports WSJ.

Turchak said Western companies leaving Russia were “purely political” decisions.

The Kremlin has tried to dispel rumors it would nationalize the property of foreign companies in Russia.

“I am not aware of this, and the Kremlin is not considering it,” Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said when asked about nationalization on Thursday.

The Russian Ministry of Transport had reportedly discussed nationalizing all Airbus and Boeing aircraft to be returned to foreign lessors as part of foreign sanctions. European Union sanctions banned the sale and leasing of all aircraft to Russia and mandated any leased assets be returned by Mar. 28.