The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia

by Masha Gessen

But it was the sociologists’ job to observe shifts in the logic and culture of institutions, and they saw it clearly soon after Putin took office. He moved to reassert executive-branch control not only over the media but also over the judiciary and, broadly, the economy. He instituted tax reform that was widely praised by liberal economists for the introduction of a flat income tax but whose other provisions served to push smaller businesses into the shadow; at the same time, Putin started placing his own people at the helm of large corporations that were owned by the state—and some that were not. His relationship with the oligarchs seemed to follow the logic of Nemtsov’s idea of “nationalizing the Kremlin”: he directed the very rich to forfeit their political power—and sometimes the assets that ensured this power. Two of the oligarchs who owned national television companies, Vladimir Gusinsky and Boris Berezovsky, were forced into exile, but not before giving up control of their media outlets. And it was clear that in Putin’s Russia ownership would mean active control: the tenor and content of the television broadcasts were changing rapidly. The first thing to go was any programming that poked fun at the Kremlin.

The Putin regime taking control of massive amounts of private wealth is an important part of this story. He wasn't a billionaire when he entered office, but he is firmly one of Russias richest men now. He seems to inspire something in delusional hacks who chase wealth for its own sake, but I can't put my finger on what it is...Oh yeah: He's winning the race by the only metrics they are bound to respect - power and personal enrichment. Staring at the people with the far away look of someone who just farted in an elevator.