bm234 Kasparov and The Other Russia

Gary Kasparov is known for being a chess master. Now he is challenging the president of Russia for control of the country, calling it a battle to bring democracy back to the nation.  With the help of my guest, Olaf Koens, in Moscow, we look at the details of Kasparov that you may have not known, and beyond that.. the parties that are challenging the Putin backed campaign in the next Russian election. We Discuss:

  • – Who is Kasparov?
  • – His contreversial chess moves
  • – His politics
  • – Other parties aligned or not aligned with him
  • – The threshold
  • – The crazy writer
  • – The Putin candidates
  • – The communist party
  • – The likely outcome
  • – Apathy in Russia, Apathy in Europe

More on Russian Oligarchy

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:

    – 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.