SAINT PAUL, MN – Today H.F. 4165 was introduced to end investments by the State Board of Investment in Russian securities or any businesses whose principal place of business is in the Russian Federation. The bill is coauthored by Rep. Kristin Robbins (R-Maple Grove) who released the following statement:
"I am happy to support this effort to ensure that the State of Minnesota is not inadvertently providing financing for the Russian war against Ukraine. It is important to show our solidarity with Ukraine and do our part to not fund the Russian atrocities against a sovereign democratic country.
“My family has friends who have been forced to flee Kyiv and we have a long-standing partnership with a church in Poland that is housing and caring for arriving refugees. Prior to the pandemic, my family made frequent trips to Poland to teach English. Over the 11 years we traveled there, we watched the Polish society flourish as democracy and capitalism took hold in the post-Soviet era and have heard similar stories of the transformational impact of freedom from Ukraine. People’s lives have been radically transformed since gaining their independence. Their state-owned apartments and jobs in government factories or mines have been replaced by private ownership of land and homes, greater educational choices, and more opportunities to own a business. They cherish their new freedom of speech and rights of ownership. They have tasted freedom and never want to go back to authoritarian control of their lives. We must do our part to stand up for democracy and the rights of the Ukrainian people.”