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- A former Russian minister turned US truck driver says he earns as much now as he did as an official.
- Denis Sharonov fled Russia last year and has spent the last six months driving a truck.
- The Russian ruble hit a 16-month low this week and is one of the worst performing currencies in 2023.
A former government official who fled Russia to avoid the military draft says his salary is the same now that he is a truck driver in the US.
Denis Sharonov has been crisscrossing the highways of 45 states as a truck driver for the past six months "to make a living" as he is waiting for his asylum claim to be processed, he told The Guardian.
And after the Russian ruble hit a 16-month low on Monday, he says that his income now matches that of his former role as agriculture minister of Russia's northern Komi Republic.
Russia's currency is suffering heavily from capital flight, dwindling tax revenues, and a weakened central bank, and is one of the worst-performing currencies in 2023.
Sharonov fled Russia after receiving a draft order to join the military last September, flying first to Mexico, from where he crossed the US border on foot and requested asylum, he told The Guardian.
But even before that he had become disenchanted with Russia.
Sharonov said that government corruption was so "rampant" in Russia that officials always find new ways to make extra money and that the main reason people get into politics is to steal.
"Corruption has ripped my country apart. Either you participate in it or you get tossed out," he added.
Sharonov said he paid the price with his job in January 2022, after refusing to participate in crooked land deals.
The military draft was just the final straw, he told The Guardian.
Regarding his new job, Sharonov told The Guardian that a lot of people don't understand. "They mock me. They say I downshifted, from a regional minister to truck driver."
But Sharonov insisted his decision to work as a truck driver was about "feeling free" and doing an "honest job".
"Working as a truck driver seemed like the most straightforward way to make a living," he said, adding: "I am proud of what I do."
Sharonov didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.