The construction of a second gas pipeline, Nord Stream 2, should allow Germany to double its imports. But during the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the West did an about-face. The United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom imposed sanctions against Russian businessmen, banks and companies. Putin nevertheless managed to circumvent these measures. Having become pariahs in the West, the oligarchs were forced to return to Russia to be closer to the master of the Kremlin.