The relationship between vast private wealth and state power in Russia is often misread as a simple shakedown. The usual story goes that a weak state got captured by greedy tycoons, or that a strong state crushed them entirely. The…
The Narrative Assembly Line: How Russian Think Tanks Manufacture Regime Expertise
In late 2023, the Russian International Affairs Council—RIAC, a think tank with a polished website, English-language output, and a stable of scholars who hold degrees from European universities—published a report called Russia’s Economic Sovereignty Under Sanctions: Adaptation Strategies for 2024–2026.…
The Gilded Cage: How Oligarchs Prop Up the Kremlin’s System
In the smoke-choked private rooms of Moscow’s elite, a quiet transaction takes place every day. It’s not a business deal in the traditional sense. It’s the exchange of fealty for a license to exist. The Russian oligarch—often painted in the…
The Gilded Cage: How Oligarchs Keep the Russian Regime Standing
There’s a particular kind of quiet that settles over the Rublyovka highway on a winter evening. Behind the tall fences and guarded gates, Russia’s ultra-rich—almost exclusively men—are not simply enjoying the spoils of a free market. They are locked into…
The Gilded Cage: How Oligarchs Fortify the Kremlin’s Hold on Power
In the sprawling, often contradictory narrative of post-Soviet Russia, the oligarch is a figure of both immense power and profound vulnerability. To the Western eye, they are the swashbuckling robber barons of a new era, men who grabbed state assets…