Fact check: No evidence Putin banned Rothschild family from Russia
Chiara VercelloneThe claim: Vladimir Putin has banned the Rothschild family from entering Russia
After Russia invaded Ukraine, several countries announced sanctions against Russia’s leaders, oligarchs and their families. Now, some social media users claim the Kremlin has also taken aim at a famous European banking dynasty.
“Putin has banned Rothschild and his new world order banking cartel family from entering Russian territory,” reads an apparent headline in a Feb. 28 post on Instagram.
The image’s caption claims Putin “kicked them out of Russia’s back door” after “paying the debt Russia had” with the family. The post accumulated more than 700 likes within a day.
But the headline isn’t accurate.
The image, which also spread widely on Facebook in 2020 before independent fact-checkers debunked it, is a screenshot of an article posted online nearly six years ago. There is no evidence to support its claim.
USA TODAY reached out to several social media users who posted the claim for comment.
Baseless claim is years old
No credible news organizations have reported that Putin has banned the Rothschild family from entering Russia. USA TODAY could find no evidence to support the claim.
The article behind the Instagram post was published in September 2016 by CSGlobe, a website that describes itself as “a popular alternative media, that gives others an opportunity to expand their everyday way of thinking.” Lead Stories debunked the article in June 2020.
The piece cites an unnamed “Kremlin source” as evidence that Putin is “fighting for his country against Rothschild.” The claim is presented without any additional sources.
The article also claims Putin’s purported ban “managed to put an end to (the Rothschild’s) influence and expansion over Russia.” But that’s inaccurate.
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Rothschild & Co., the financial advising company owned by the Rothschild family, has an office in Moscow, according to its website. A version of the company’s site archived Feb. 25 says it has had an “on-the-ground” presence in Russia for over a decade.
“Our Moscow team offers local clients the full range of our advisory services and holds an in-depth understanding of local and regional dynamics, and unparalleled high-level and government access supported by our senior advisers,” reads the page…
USA TODAY reached out to Rothschild & Co. and CSGlobe for comment.
Our rating: False
Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that Putin has banned the Rothschild family from entering Russia. There’s no evidence supporting the claim, which was first published in 2016 and has been debunked by independent fact-checking organizations. The Rothschild family’s company has an office in Moscow.
Our fact-check sources:
- Lead Stories, June 10, 2020, Fact Check: Putin Did NOT Ban Rothschilds from Russia
- CSGlobe, Sept. 21, 2016, Putin Has Banned Rothschild And His New World Order Banking Cartel Family From Entering Russian Territory
- CSGlobe, accessed March 2, About Us
- Rothschild & Co., accessed March 2, Our story
- Rothschild & Co., accessed Feb. 25, Our services in Russia and the CIS
- Rothschild & Co., accessed March 2, Contact us, office locations
- USA TODAY, Feb. 27, What sanctions does Russia face? Here’s a list by country
- Britannica, accessed March 2, Rothschild family
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