Football, Eurovision and business rush to ditch links to Moscow over Ukraine invasion

Despite the Crimean annexation of 2014 and the jailing of opposition leaders, the Kremlin often looked to be successful in its mission, winning the rights to host leading sporting and cultural events, giving it a global platform to carefully construct its image for the outside world.

Strongmen in central and eastern Europe, who for years looked to Putin as an alternative to the liberal western model of democracy, similarly reacted in shock.

Former French prime minister Francois Fillon, who has previously criticised the west for its handling of the Ukrainian crisis on Friday resigned from the boards of two Russian firms in protest.

Back in Moscow,Putin last Thursday gathered more than 30 top executives and business owners in the Kremlin, seeking support in the face of western sanctions.

Many in the room, like Alfa-Bank founder Petr Aven and Novatek chairman Leonid Mikhelson, have in the past mingled in western high society, collaborating with major European art and cultural institutions while owning elite property across Europe. While veteran businessmen like Aven have not been hit personally by sanctions, experts believe the standing of rich Russians in the west will be tarnished.