Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on agriculture in Rostov region, Russia, September 24, 2015. REUTERS/ALEXEI NIKOLSKY/RIA NOVOSTI/KREMLIN
Anders Åslund, Project Syndicate: The Achilles Heel of Putin’s Regime
WASHINGTON, DC – Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authority is weaker than it seems. In fact, the bedrock of Putin’s power – the clientelist economic arrangements that he has assiduously consolidated over the past generation – has become the main threat to his political survival. The reason is simple: the lack of credible property rights under Putin’s system of crony capitalism forces senior Russian officials and oligarchs to hold their money abroad, largely within the jurisdictions of the Western governments against which Putin rails.
With the help of carefully selected loyalists, Putin has established three circles of power: the state, state-owned corporations, and loyalists’ “private” companies. The process began during his tenure as chairman of the Federal Security Service, from 1998 to 1999, when he wielded control over the secret police.
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WNU Editor: One of the better analysis that I have read on present day Russia. But as for Russian off-shore accounts .... I am sceptical that it is as big as many like to believe that it is.
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Some $700 billion has left Russia since the 1990s
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