Employees who help wealthy Russian customers with their requests for superyachts have described what it is like to work for them. In an interview with the Financial Times, an unnamed Dutch artisan said the standards of his Russian clients, including the oligarchs, were “incredible” and that “you have to do things perfectly”. He added that his work required a lot of secrecy, which means that if he did some “amazing” work, he could not photograph it. Oligarchs are famous for their very expensive tastes, especially when it comes to superyachts. A superyacht broker also told the FT that the Russians “are one step below the Saudis” in their desire for luxury amenities. Demands for ships range from saunas, helicopter cushions and submarines to rare tropical wood, exclusively leather and gold fountains, according to the FT. Ships have been a hot topic of discussion in recent times following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and luxury assets owned by oligarchs have been targeted through Western sanctions. Measures to put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin have resulted in the seizure of many such ships. These include the largest megayacht in the world, which is worth 735 million dollars and belongs to Alisher Usmanov. It was recently confiscated by German authorities. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Usmanov is worth $ 19.2 billion. It owns 49% of USM, a Russian-based investment group controlled by Metalloinvest, Russia’s largest iron ore producer, and MegaFon, a Moscow-based telecommunications company. Western sanctions have allowed the oligarchs to intervene, forcing them to transfer ownership of their superyachts or remove them from countries where they could be seized. Other super yachts owned by Russian oligarchs such as Roman Abramovich include notable amenities such as bulletproof glass and a mini submarine capable of diving up to 150 feet.