Herein lies one of the impediments to change in Russia - there is no longer any independent pillars of influence. In the 11 years since Mr. Khodorkovsky’s arrest, Mr. Putin has consolidated power into what the political scientist Karen Dawisha calls “kleptocratic authoritarianism.” Its essential characteristic is all-encompassing corruption, which makes all the moneyed men of the Russian elite — and they are all men, and all moneyed — profoundly interdependent. Many of them have held public office during this time, but it has invariably been subject to three interlocking conditions: They had to pay to get into office, and though they could use the office for accumulating greater wealth, they could not use it to wield or gain political power. nytimes/2014/12/11/opinion/masha-gessen-the-myth-of-the-russian-oligarchs.html?_r=2
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 16:04:00 +0000