Nick Wells | Wikipedia

M/V Serene 440-foot yacht owned by Yuri Scheffler, the founder of Stolichnaya Vodka.

In an email interview, Scheffler said he is in New York on business—hence the boat.

Although Scheffler's company, SPI Group, started in Russia, it's now based in Luxembourg. Scheffler is now a British citizen who spends much of his time abroad and hasn't been to Russia in 12 years.

(Read more: Every oligarch for himself: Crazy days in Ukraine)

Scheffler has publicly battled President Vladimir Putin for years as the Russian government tried to seize the company and "renationalize" its assets. The government even issued a warrant for Scheffler's arrest in 2003 after he refused to hand over the company.

So when asked about his views on Ukraine, Scheffler was highly critical of Russia's government.

"If Russia were a democratic country as the USA, with a proper legal system, and Crimea had asked it for help to defend itself from a hostile neighbor, then this would be OK, " he wrote in the email. "In the current situation, this is terrible when a country captures a neighbor's territory. I feel sorry for Crimean people ... there are no laws in Russia. There is only one law in Russia, and it's called 'Putin.' Only one justice, called 'Putin'.''

(Read more: My other Lamborghini is a yacht)

For Scheffler and his boat, the U.S.—and its rule of law—have truly been a safe harbor. Especially now.