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Wednesday, September 16, 2009


BBC reports that the super-rich of Russia are losing their influence in politics as well as a large portion of their wealth due to the crisis. It's about time that Russia's oligarchs got a taste of the real world. Mr. Maxim Kashulinsky of Forbes Russian Edition says that they work better under pressure? I disagree, they get more done when no one's watching is more like it. In times of crisis when everyone (including the government) needs money, it is so much easier to get officials to bend the rules when it comes to things like public safety, waste management and environmental issues, taxes, import/export duties, etc. The courts are drowning in cases with everyone suing everyone. Quick deals are made behind closed doors, away from the prying eyes of the press and in all this chaos the gears of business turn smoothly greased along by "strategic investments" and "special favours". Yes, the oligarchs, even those who went from the status of billionaire to millionaire within a couple of months, can really get a lot done for a lot less. Yes, they work much better in this time of crisis when the officials are either off chasing their tails or sitting near their table on hind legs begging for tasty morsels. The crisis defines them, how else does one become a billionaire in less than 10 years? Many major actors, business people and hoteliers cannot claim that status after a lifetime or even a family history of achievement and people just from beyond the iron curtain say they earned that money honestly? I don't think so...

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