Gazprom head calls on Russians to rally behind Putin

Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller has called on the Russian state gas supplier's employees to "rally" behind Russian president Vladimir Putin, amid escalating international pressure against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

In the letter, dated March 5, Miller said that external forces had repeatedly and unsuccessfully tried to "break" Russia and were trying again, according to a copy of the letter seen by Russian independent news outlet Meduza. These forces are trying to sow discord in the Russian people, he said, urging Gazprom employees "not to succumb to these destructive influences."

"Today, like never before, it is important to remain committed to the common cause, to rally around our president," he said.

Miller has been a close ally of Putin ever since they worked together in the early 1990s in the mayor's office of St Petersburg. He was appointed CEO of Gazprom in 2001, a year after Putin became Russia's president.

Miller and other leading figures Russia's oil and gas industry including Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin, Transneft CEO Nikolai Tokarev and Novatek shareholder Gennady Timchenko have been placed under Western sanctions for their close ties with the Kremlin.

Rallying behind Putin will "preserve Russia as we know it and love it" and ensure it remains a "great power," Miller said in the letter.