Former Putin envoy reportedly spotted in Israeli migration department

Update. Anatoly Chubais denies allegations that he is seeking permanent residence in Israel. He adds that he doesn’t own real estate in the country.

A man resembling Russian politician and economist Anatoly Chubais, who is the highest ranked government official to have left Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine, was spotted in Israel’s Internal Affairs Ministry. A Facebook user posted photos taken inside the ministry, writing that Chubais’ wife Avdotya Smirnova, a screenwriter and literary critic, was with him.

An Israeli publication, Detali, called attention to the photo, writing that Chubais and Smirnova were seen in the migration department of the city of Nof HaGalil, in northern Israel. Chubais was presumably filing a request for permanent residence documents such as an identity card or passport.

Detali says that Chubais arrived in Israel in the spring of 2022. According to the publication, he owns at least one piece of real estate in the country.

Anatoly Chubais headed the state-owned nanotechnology firm Rusnano until December 2020, when he became special envoy to the Russian president for relations with international organizations. In late March 2022, Chubais resigned his post and left Russia, reportedly because he disagreed with the Russian Federation’s decision to invade Ukraine.