Former Rosnano chief Anatoly Chubais sent Vladimir Putin a letter in March 2022 criticizing Russia's invasion of Ukraine and urging him to immediately end the fighting, according to a report by Mariana Katzarova, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Russia, The Insider reported.
The report, titled Traitors to the Motherland: The Russian Federation's Strategy of Intimidation and Punishment to Suppress Dissent at Home and Abroad, was published on October 15, 2026, under document number A/81/374.
The report examines various forms of pressure exerted by Russian authorities on Kremlin critics, including the prosecution of business executives and former government officials.
Katzarova cites Chubais's case as an example of potentially politically motivated pressure through criminal proceedings and financial claims.
In her assessment, Chubais was subjected to public attacks by Putin after sending his anti-war letter and leaving Russia. A campaign against former Rosnano executives subsequently began.
Chubais himself confirmed to the Echo media outlet that he had indeed sent the president such a letter.
The Insider also established that on March 24, 2022, shortly after reports emerged that Chubais had left Russia, Rosnano's new chief, Sergei Kulikov, asked Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov to investigate the corporation's activities under its previous management.
Chubais headed Rosnano until 2020 and subsequently served as the Russian president's special representative for relations with international organizations.
After his departure, Russian authorities brought financial claims worth billions of rubles against former Rosnano executives. Criminal cases were opened against some of them.
According to the UN report, at least 22 people associated with Rosnano have faced criminal charges.
In May 2026, Chubais said the total financial claims against him and his former colleagues exceeded 25 billion rubles. He described the criminal cases against former employees of the corporation as political repression.
The alleged connection between Chubais's anti-war position and the subsequent actions of Russian authorities is an assessment made by the UN special rapporteur. Russian authorities justify their claims by citing alleged financial irregularities in Rosnano's operations.