Foreign Affairs
Related: About this forumRussian Oligarchs 'Mysteriously Disappear' With Record Speed. - The Russian Dude
Russias elite is collapsing from the inside, and the Kremlin is now openly devouring its own. Putins regime, drowning in fear, economic pressure, and wartime paranoia, has begun a sweeping purge of oligarchs, generals, governors, tycoons, and long-protected insiders. The borders are effectively closed for the wealthy, trapping Russian oligarchs inside the country as Putin prepares to seize their assets, raid their fortunes, and force voluntary contributions to keep the war machine running. Those who resist or try to escape are disappearing through arrests, sudden health issues, mysterious deaths, and bizarre accidents. What used to be rare scandals is now a conveyor belt of elite arrests, self-eliminations, and unexplained collapses.
The Kremlin has abandoned its old unwritten rules and replaced them with raw survival tactics. Investigators, the FSB, and regional power brokers no longer fear consequences, because public backlash is gone and dissent is criminalized. The war destroyed the previous balance of power, allowing every agency to hunt its own rivals under the excuse of wartime necessity. Putins circle is shrinking fast as loyalty becomes a liability and wealth becomes a target. The oligarchs who once funded the Kremlin are now being sacrificed to keep the regime afloat. Those who fled to London, Dubai, or Cyprus arent safe eitherPutins regime remembers every name and every ruble.
This new elite purge shows a system eating itself because it can no longer afford uncertainty or opposition. The collapsing economy, sanctions, war expenses, and internal paranoia have pushed Russia into the final phase of dictatorshipwhen the leadership starts cannibalizing the people who built it. The Kremlins crackdown on the oligarchs exposes how unstable Putins rule has become, how desperate the state is for money, and how rapidly the inner circle is evaporating. In todays Russia, loyalty no longer saves you. It marks you. And in a regime running out of money, allies, and time, even the richest supporters are now disposable.
This is the new reality for Russias elite: no exit, no safety, no future. The borders are closing, the arrests are accelerating, and the message from the Kremlin is unmistakablenobody is untouchable anymore.
Mister Ed
(6,752 posts)riversedge
(78,914 posts)Irish_Dem
(78,074 posts)Trump will devour them as well here in the US.
multigraincracker
(36,727 posts)DFW
(59,424 posts)Only the ones closest to him who showered him in money before, and now, finally, are beginning to wonder if continued contributions merely constitute throwing good money after bad. The big money people, both friend and foe, who have been maintaining their distance for a while now, will have less to fear, because Trump has less of an idea what he is missing.
Irish_Dem
(78,074 posts)They know where it is and how to get it.
They excel at this.
DFW
(59,424 posts)Those who accumulated wealth of that magnitude might have spent some if it on the resources necessary to conceal a great part of it from obvious Enteigner no matter from which which end of the political spectrum they start their greedy raid.
Irish_Dem
(78,074 posts)You are seriously underestimating his power, resources, greed, cruelty and revenge capability as well.
Trump and Musk have all kinds of secret data available to them now.
Trump will use the full weight of the US govt to get what he wants.
And he will start leaning on people if he wants to do so.
How would these rich guys feel if the DOJ, FBI, IRS, CIA start coming after them?
It is going to be hard even for a billionaire to withstand that kind of scrutiny and assault.
It is so ironic that the billionaires got rich in the US because of our rule of law, government protections,
and US courts. Now it will all be used against them.
bluedigger
(17,357 posts)It's all how you frame it, comrade.
GiqueCee
(3,067 posts)... since defenestration is your favorite method of retribution for offenses real or imagined, why don't you step over here and take in the lovely view from this open window?
FakeNoose
(39,589 posts)I believe the welcome mat was removed for many of the Russians who came here and bought $ million condos from Chump. Once their money was frozen by US and European banks, Chump lost interest and there wasn't a lot he could do. Did they go back to Russia, or did they start laundering their dirty money somewhere else? I don't know.
DFW
(59,424 posts)One Russian, whose identity I thankfully do not know, donated $100,000,000+ (I do know how much) to a fund to support Ukrainian children a few years back. I am told he lives in a European city not known for its tall buildings, but maybe thats just a coincidence ..
FakeNoose
(39,589 posts)They aren't all slaves to Putin ....
DFW
(59,424 posts)With good reason, wouldnt you say?
My son-in-law had to flee Russia (that is to say, his mom did) before he was ten, because his father got on the wrong side of Putins graces in some insignificant business deal shortly after the Soviet Union dissolved. I never found out the details, and his dad didnt live to tell the tale. They arent/werent Jewish, but fled to Israel anyway (she had some contact or other there through her mom). He was still young, and so became fluent in Hebrew before his mom met some American guy in New York. He was a well-connected lawyer, and after moving to the USA, they soon had green cards. My SIL now finally has his US citizenship, and no fortune worth chasing, so I think he and my daughter can breathe easy. He took my daughters family name, and dropped his own. Their sons (my grandsons) have only US and German citizenship, so no obvious connections to either Russia or Israel.
FakeNoose
(39,589 posts)Hoping for all the best - love and happiness to them!
Bluetus
(1,956 posts)I have seen basically NO COVERAGE at all from the legacy media on the fact that Ukraine has been striking major blows to the Putin economy by disrupting its most important industry: fossil fuels. Combined with the European sanctions, this means that Russia will get very little energy revenue from Europe this winter, and that is having devastating consequences for the Russian economy.
The legacy media jumps all over the story when the Trump administration announces yet another plan to throw Ukraine under the bus, but barely a word about what is actually happening in this war. The real story is that Russia hasn't made any appreciable advances on the ground and their economy at home is crashing.
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/russia/slow-death-russian-oil