Author: Hazel Ruiz

In the West, the word “oligarch” usually paints a picture of dirty money, London mansions, and superyachts. But inside Russia, the bond between massive private fortunes and the Kremlin is something else entirely—something more deliberate and far more cynical. This…

In the sprawling, often contradictory landscape of Russian political economy, the word “oligarch” paints a very specific picture. It’s a term that evokes superyachts moored off Monaco, London townhouses bought through shell companies, and a gilded class that crawled from…

In the murky, often contradictory architecture of Russian power, the oligarch occupies a strange and paradoxical position. He is at once a product of the state’s chaotic retreat in the 1990s and a creature entirely dependent on its current, rigid…

In the sprawling, often murky architecture of Russian political power, the oligarch occupies a strange and contradictory position. To the outside world, they are the poster children of post-Soviet excess—superyachts, London mansions, and bitter legal feuds in Swiss courts. But…

The Oligarch’s Bargain: How Concentrated Wealth Sustains Authoritarian Stability By Yelena Sorokina In the architecture of modern authoritarianism, the oligarch is not a parasite. He is a load-bearing wall. The popular imagination likes to cast the ultra-wealthy as independent kingmakers,…