Ukraine enlists billionaires to take on Russia

The phrase "Russian oligarch" has become a cliché in Western media – but Ukraine's billionaires have been shoved into the spotlight in their country's recent turmoil.

The mix of personal, political, and financial dissatisfaction at the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych were key factors driving anti-government protests. Indeed, it was the wealth that Yanukovych's son is believed have amassed that has been cited as one of the factors in his father's downfall.

Alexander Khudoteply | AFP | Getty Images

Ukraine's richest man Rinat Akhmetov at a training session of his team in Donetsk on February 12, 2013, a day before its Champions League football match.

Yet the new government has tried to get some of the wealthiest Ukrainians on side. Two of the country's billionaires, Igor Kolomoisky and Serhiy Taruta, have been given posts leading important regions, while Rinat Akhmetov, the richest man in Ukraine and formerly a prominent supporter of Yanukovych, has stated his company SCM "will do everything possible to maintain the integrity of our country." Taruta is in charge of Donetsk, a particularly important region on Russian border which has been the focus of pro-Russian protests

Kolomoisky, billionaire and now governor of the region Dnipropetrovsk, waded into the diplomatic row between Ukraine and Russia Monday by calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a "schizophrenic of short stature."

Putin, who is 5'7", fought back at his press conference Tuesday: "What we see in the east [of Ukraine] now is that billionaires are being installed as governors."

There are currently nine dollar billionaires in Ukraine, according to Forbes, who have derived their wealth from the sell-off of the country's natural resources -- much like their Russian equivalents. And now, they have an opportunity to step away from Russian influence towards the European Union.

"They are not interested in getting too close to Russia because they are afraid of Russians buying them out," Sam Greene, director of the Russia Institute at King's College London, told CNBC.