A month before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Putin received at his residence in Novo-Ogaryovo the head of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Elvira Nabiullina, and the head of Sberbank, German Gref.. They tried to dissuade Vladimir Putin from escalating the situation in Ukraine, threatening catastrophic consequences for the Russian economy.. This is reported by the Financial Times, citing its sources..

As noted in the publication, German Gref, who has been a close associate of the Russian dictator since the 90s and had liberal views compared to other friends of Putin, prepared a 39-page presentation for him, during which he tried to convey that the “tough sanctions” of the West,. Also, there were reservations in the forecasts that Russia's GDP could fall by 30 percent, and the standard of living of Russians would lag even behind developing countries..

According to people familiar with the publication, during the conference, the Russian president interrupted Gref and asked what the Russian Federation should do to avoid the worst-case scenario..

Too timid to keep Putin safe from escalation, technocrats have failed to say he risks geopolitical catastrophe, says FT.

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According to sources, Gref and Nabiullina left the meeting without knowing what exactly the head of the Kremlin was planning and whether he had taken into account their forecasts..

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Putin's refusal to heed the technocrats' reservations devastated them.

“I have never seen Gref like this.. He was in a state of complete shock, ”says a man from the environment who saw Gref in the first days of the war..

But as Western countries began to push Russia out of global financial markets and supply chains, technocrats rushed to the Kremlin's aid, using deft economic management skills to overcome the crisis.. In the process, they became convinced that their own apocalyptic predictions did not come true..

Instead of breaking with Putin, the technocrats have solidified their role in facilitating him, using their expertise and tools to soften the blow of Western sanctions and keep the Russian economy during the war..

Although Russia is largely cut off from global banking and payment systems, technocrats have been able to keep the country's economy going..

“The economic team really saved him. That's why he keeps them close.

If the security forces controlled the economy, the fall in GDP would really be 10-15 percent,” says a former senior Russian official.

The FT stressed that the constant silence of technocrats and help in circumventing sanctions makes them accomplices in the war..

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Recall that earlier the EU introduced the ninth package of sanctions against the Russian Federation in response to the fact that after manipulating grain, Putin decided to use attacks on energy infrastructure in the cold season to terrorize Ukrainians..