Among executives, board members, analysts and others in the business world in recent days, a "who's who" list has been floating around, showing which companies have pulled out of Russia amid its attack on Ukraine - and which ones have stayed put.

The spreadsheet, compiled by Yale professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and his research team, has become a naughty-or-nice list of sorts, with CEOs trying their best to avoid being placed on the roster of "Companies That Remain in Russia With Significant Exposure."

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Sonnenfeld, who founded the nonprofit Chief Executive Leadership Institute, said he has fielded calls from CEOs asking "why we didn't have them on the right list, and what they needed to do to either clarify or actually take a more strong stance."

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On top of skyrocketing inflation and a plummeting ruble, Russians have been left with a dwindling marketplace: Prada stores have shuttered, TikTok has suspended operations in their country, and car companies including Rolls-Royce, Toyota and Volkswagen have stopped shipping vehicles to Russia. Even WWE, the wrestling entertainment company, said it would halt operations there.

The gutting of the Russian economy has shattered the image that President Vladimir Putin had created, portraying himself as an all-powerful leader with things under control, Sonnenfeld said in a phone interview with The Washington Post on Monday.

And with Russian state media echoing Putin's framing of the war as a "special military operation," Sonnenfeld added, the corporate pullouts provide a tangible message that the attack "isn't just some little military operation."

Even among those on the list of "Companies That Have Curtailed Russian Operations," some are taking a stronger position against the invasion than others, Sonnenfeld said. According to the list, BASF, a German chemical company, said it would "suspend new Russian relationships," while other companies including Apple and Chanel have closed stores or cut off supply chains. FedEx is halting all shipments to Russia, and major oil companies including ExxonMobil have said they will exit operations there, leaving billions of dollars on the table.

Although some companies could argue that exiting Russia would harm employees there who are removed from Putin's decision to invade Ukraine, Sonnenfeld said that "the idea is not to minimize the pain."