LONDON – The Russian Federal Security Bureau (FSB) has raided the offices of Aeroflot and has seized hard drives and documents.
It is understood this happened due to the former deputy CEO of the carrier, Andrei Panov, publishing an opinion piece in the Financial Times.
You can see the full opinion piece by clicking here.
Panov: Sabotage The War Effort…
The piece from Panov called on former colleagues to “sabotage the war effort”. He further added:
“I want to tell every colleague — those with whom I worked, built projects, or negotiated deals, every senior Russian business person: I know why you are afraid to speak out against the war”.
“I was the same when I was still in Moscow. I know it is impossible to be a top executive and oppose the political regime, and I am not calling for martyrs or political prisoners. But you can retire, you can leave, and even if neither of these is possible, there are still things you can do.”
“You can sabotage the war effort, by delaying or ignoring every deal or contract which supports the military invasion or Russian propaganda.”
“You can educate your subordinates and make clear to them you are against the war. You can ignore Z parades and refuse to send your staff to participate in them, and you can shout loudly about the economic disaster which grows with each new week of conflict.”
For a bit of context of Panov, he left Aeroflot last month in order to voice his opposition to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
It is understood that the FSB is questioning those in Marketing & Strategy at the airline following the raid itself.
What About the Other Executives?
It seems that the other executives within Aeroflot are still remaining quiet on the issue, probably at the request of the Russian Government.
This is quite a statement in itself, especially with Aeroflot being state-owned, which of course is not going to make President Vladimir Putin too happy.
It would not be surprising if we saw a statement come out from the carrier eventually, pledging its support for the conflict, as those working there don’t want to get into the crossfire of the FSB.
It will be interesting to see what else comes out of Aeroflot, and potentially other people across the Russian aviation industry who wish to speak out about this conflict.
This is a developing story.
