Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska predicts that Russia will face a severe crisis for at least three years due to military aggression against Ukraine.

"I understand this better than others. When people tell you: will they lower the iron curtain or not? The crisis [waiting for the country] for at least three years is the most severe. Multiply the 1998 crisis by at least three," he said speaking at Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum.

"It will be necessary to reopen this curtain. The first step is peace. The second step is to honestly discuss where we live, how we live, under what conditions, who commands what, what risks it carries, it is certainly important to raise the population. I am against the most severe financial pressure, it [population] is not to blame for anything," Deripaska said.

Deripaska said that in three weeks it would be clear what happened to the Russian state-owned banks as a result of sanctions.