Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Thursday, January 07, 2010

Putin and an oligarch

Wayne Berbert, who teaches at Syosset High School in New York, recommended this article. It's a good one and throws light on another aspect of the government's relationship with the economic state. Wayne wrote, "This article is good enough on its own but could also be a good comparison with the New York Times article from last month on Mikhail Khodorvsky. Why is the relationship between these two men and Putin different? Does it take away the credibility of the West's interpretation that Putin is trying to consolidate power by taking Khodorvsky down? You could also use it to compare Russia's handling of the economic crisis with our own."

Thanks, Wayne.

[If the link here doesn't work, go to Google or Yahoo News and search for "Deripaska."]

New Détente: Putin, Tycoons Rescue Each Other in Crisis

Swamped with debt, Oleg Deripaska seemed the most likely of Russia's tycoons to fall victim to the financial crisis a year ago. Today he is on his way to preserving most of his sprawling empire, thanks to bailouts from the Kremlin and breaks from foreign lenders...

Mr. Deripaska's experience underscores the strangely symbiotic relationship between Russia's oligarchs and a leader, Prime Minister Putin... [at left]

The waves of bankruptcies and nationalizations many here expected were judged too destabilizing to risk, according to government advisers. Keeping loyal oligarchs afloat has checked the political impact of the financial crisis by limiting layoffs. The tycoons, in turn, have obliged by sometimes playing the role of whipping boy on state television. Mr. Putin "needs there to be a multiplicity of oligarchs for him to keep power," said one person close to Rusal...

Like the other remaining oligarchs, he studiously avoids independent political activity... amid what U.S. officials say are concerns about whether Mr. Deripaska has ties to organized crime...