President Vladimir Putin on Sunday appointed his former “business tsar” as his special representative to international organizations, a position previously held by veteran reformer Anatoly Chubais before he left Russia two years ago in opposition to the war.Boris Titov, who served as Russia’s business ombudsman from 2012, announced his resignation in the fall of 2022, citing the two-term limit and the demanding nature of the job.“Ten years in such a challenging role is too much,” he said at the time.

“We have created an institution and have done a lot to protect businesspeople, both for individuals and for [business] as a whole.”As Russia’s special representative to international organizations, Titov replaces Chubais, who resigned and left Russia in March 2022. During his tenure as business ombudsman, Titov created his so-called “London List” of wealthy Russians who had fled the country under criminal investigation but were willing to return home and repatriate their wealth if authorities would not pursue charges.

At least one of the returnees was arrested and jailed after arriving in Russia.Titov, who used to head the business association Delovaya Rossiya, ran for president in 2018 with his pro-business party, finishing sixth place with just 0.76% of the vote.