Sudden Russian Death Syndrome

[Dr. Strange Love]

Business as usual for the Boss of Bosses …

“… To reiterate: All of these deaths occurred this year. …”

Sudden Russian Death Syndrome

It’s not a great time to be an oligarch who’s unenthusiastic about Putin’s war in Ukraine.

www.theatlantic.com

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[JP4]

It's the vaccine. Side effects include stumbling through windows, licking poison toads, and crashing your vertalyot.

 

[MidCakePa]

Just finished reading “Red Notice” by Bill Browder. A British citizen of American birth, Browder was the most successful hedge fund investor in Russia. That is, until his reform-centric investing style angered too many oligarchs and Putin himself. Browder’s Russian lawyer exposed a government-perpetrated fraud against the fund, and he paid with his life. His prison ordeal, with torture, was gruesome. Browder has committed himself fully to avenging that murder.

The book exposes a lot of how scummy, underhanded and disgusting Putin’s Russia is. Not at all a pretty picture, as the Russian government and the oligarchs — not always on the same page — will both do anything to enrich themselves. The losers are always the Russian people. Browder actually posits that Putin is the world’s richest man, via a simple order directed at the otherwise vulnerable oligarchs: “Half!”

 

[StPaulDad]

Well thank you very much, @MidCakePa you troublemaker. I went to look at that Browder book and ended up spending three hours burrowing around used book sites and adding to the piles of volumes in my room. Heading into places like that when you're slightly tired and bored is worse than grocery shopping on an empty stomach. My wife will not be pleased, though I remain hopeful that some day she'll appreciate the simple and inexpensive nature of my reading habit compared with, say, sailing.

To relate this to the topic at hand, I actually think the richest man position is quite possible. Putin was more or less in charge of the privatization of the Russian economy in the early 1990s when these incredibly lucrative industries were parceled out. Of course he made a fortune. Half is higher than I would have demanded, but I was never the megalomaniac, more of a baseball fan really, so it's no surprise I'm not worth billions or attempting to restack the established world order to recreate the days of Stalin. Perhaps there's something to be learned about choosing your heroes wisely to achieve more in life, or perhaps it's better for everyone that I liked Kent Hrbek more than Augusto Pinochet in the 80s. I should go to bed.

 

[cb7893]

Putin was more or less in charge of the privatization of the Russian economy in the early 1990s when these incredibly lucrative industries were parceled out.

The process of privatization began almost immediately after the dissolution of the USSR. During the administration of Boris Yeltsin. The official in charge was Anatoly Chubais. At that time, Putin was languishing in St. Petersburg and did not join the Yeltsin government until 1997, by which time, the most valuable state assets had already been sold off.

One could say, that after Putin assumed the Presidency in 2000, he brought the oligarchs to heel...or eliminated those who would not play by his rules.

Interesting fact. Bill Browder's Grandfather was the General Secretary of the US Communist Party.

 

[MidCakePa]

Interesting fact. Bill Browder's Grandfather was the General Secretary of the US Communist Party.

Indeed, one of the great ironies of the story. Browder said to himself as he headed to Russia: “My grandfather was a great communist in America. I’m going to be a great capitalist in Russia.”