Arsen Tomsky, a well-known entrepreneur, shocked many when he announced that he had renounced his Russian citizenship and adopted Kazakhstani citizenship.
On his Telegram channel, the entrepreneur explained his decision:
«At the invitation of the Government of Kazakhstan, I accepted citizenship in this country. inDrive has become a global company with a global mission and strategic goals, and the situation in which the CEO, founder, and major shareholder is a citizen of a neutral country significantly contributes to their realization.
At the same time, Yakutia remains my homeland, and I remain a Sakha – and will do everything in my power to make life in the republic better. The more successful inDrive becomes, the more I can do for Yakutia – almost everything I earn, I spend on our non-profit projects, and initially, almost all of them started in Yakutia.
I have always helped with solutions, projects, finances, and technologies: from Yakut cinema to fighting forest fires, from educating talented children from ordinary families in the best universities in the world to assisting during the pandemic – the list is endless. Not because I am a patriot or owe anyone – simply because I love my homeland, and it interests me to help it and its people – it makes people’s lives better and myself happier.
Working with our non-profit projects in Yakutia is challenging, sometimes simply impossible, and Kazakhstan becomes the first country for many initiatives. But sooner or later, the situation in Russia will normalize, and the country will embark on the path of peaceful development – and then we will be able to conduct our development projects there in full force, improving people’s lives.
I am confident that the majority will understand this decision. A person is defined not by a passport but by their deeds.
Thank you, and good luck to us at inDrive – for the benefit of the whole world.»
