In his book Russia’s Crony Capitalism: The Path from Market Economy to Kleptocracy, Anders Aslund explains how Putin, a former KGB agent, relied on his community of spies and secret-service operatives to do precisely that.1 From 2000 to 2003, Putin took pains to make the new pecking order clear: the rich could remain rich, could become much richer still, but only if they got clear on their political priorities.
