As I periodically do on this blog, today I’m writing about how more and more obvious it becomes that the Russian Federation is run by an oligarchy.
Not that its so unique, lots of nations are run by oligarchies, but let’s stay on Russia today. Last weeks news that yet another person who was going to testify that the Russian secret police were responsible for the poisoning of that guy in the UK, once again threw an even brighter blinking red warning sign that not only is Russia run by an oligarchy, the oligarchs are willing to do whatever it takes to stay in power, and that includes the occasional murder.
Oligarchy: (according to webster) 1 : government by the few
2 : a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes; also : a group exercising such control
Radio Open Source had one of their must-listen-to programs the other day regarding Russia and just what has happenned to the country since their so-called adoption of the market system. Among the things that the interesting guests pointed out:
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– Moscow now has one of the highest number of billionaires of any city in the world.
– President Putin may step down after the next election, but the next president will come from the same group that has ruled the country for the past 2 decades.
– He can also just rewrite the statutes to make himself a powerful prime minister and keep ruling.
– The KGB was never disbanded, it was simply given a new name.
– All the big industries, especially fossil fuels like gas and oil, were taken control through secret deals, family connections, and of course the occasional government payoff.
Anyway there’s plenty more where that came from, but the concern remains the same. Huge inequality continues to grow in Russia while a small group of people plunder its natural wealth. The population is decreasing while the rest of the world pretends Putin is a nice guy and nothing is wrong because they are so addicted to the fuel Russia will provide for the forseeable future.