Russian tycoon tells Kremlin: Tolerate, don't punish dissident remote workers

FILE PHOTO: President and Chairman of the Board of MMC Norilsk Nickel Vladimir Potanin attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russia June 6, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - One of Russia's richest tycoons called on the authorities on Monday to tolerate rather than punish hundreds of thousands of workers who have fled abroad due to Moscow's war in Ukraine, arguing that the country needs their brain power.

"People who work for our economy from abroad - remotely or otherwise - should not be punished," billionaire metals executive Vladimir Potanin told the online RBC news portal, calling for an end to talk of punitive measures against them, something he called "demagoguery".