Yale University Defends Donations From Russia-Linked Billionaire
Yale University has defended receiving millions of dollars from a Russia-linked billionaire with ties to the country’s oligarchs.
The Ivy League school has copped criticism from members of its own faculty for accepting funds from billionaire Len Blavatnik—who has close relationships with Russian oligarchs Victor Vekselberg and Oleg Deripaska, both of whom have been sanctioned by the U.S. government.
Blavatnik, who was born in Odessa in what was then the Soviet republic of Ukraine and is now a U.S. and a U.K. citizen, made his wealth from the sale of state-owned aluminum and oil assets following the collapse of the Soviet Union. He has helped fund the Blavatnik Fund for Innovation, as well as the Blavatnik Fellowship, at Yale since the fund was first established in 2016 with a grant of $10 million.
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