A Warning…

Authoritarian systems share a few standard features. One is that those at the top live luxurious lives separated from the common man. They have access to the best. They are insulated from what happens to their people.

This is the wealth of one Vladimir Putin. He lives like a king because he is a modern-day Tsar:

Vladimir Putin has been accused by western governments of amassing a vast secret fortune through a network of oligarchs and friends. However, there is little evidence on paper that links Putin to the assets — or the friendly benefactors to each other.

One possible connection has now emerged. An investigation by the the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and the news website Meduza has identified a group of 86 apparently unconnected companies or not for profit organisations that appear to hold over $4.5bn (£3.7bn) of assets where a common private email address, LLCInvest.ru, appears to be in use.

The assets which appear to be held by the organisations include a range of luxury homes, yachts and vineyards previously linked in media reports to Russia’s president. The telecoms company hosting the domain name on its servers is closely linked to Bank Rossiya, described by the US Treasury as “the personal bank for senior officials of the Russian Federation”.

We have a rising class of oligarchs who live exceptionally well and have access to every Western luxury. A purge is underway. It’s mostly the people who worked for Sergei Shoigu. This is also normal in authoritarian…