RUSSIA MUST PAY $50 BILLION - The International Court of Justice is right. Russia must pay. It should pay now and it should pay in full, with no appeal. (It should pay Pussy Riot - the Russian singing group mis-jailed for a parody of Putin - also). There is a subtext of complexity to Putins Vertical of Power, which must be not merely imagined, but understood. Putin came to power at the hands and with the help of Oligarchs who found themselves at the right place at the right time (when the US and its institutions, together with Professor Jeffrey Sachs) imposed economic theories in Russia that drove the country into a desperate economic tailspin. In the chaos, billions were made by a few who were well-place or ruthless (often heartless) enough to take advantage of the incompetence and lack of financial resources of a Russian state in transition. Once in power, Putin said, alright, fine. You are billionaires. You won the lottery at the states expense. Keep the money. Live well. But it would be unfair for you to attempt also to control the state. Mikhail Khodorkovsky the most brilliant, urbane and worldly of the ruffians that were members of the oligarchs did not adhere to this warning; constantly challenging Putin, insisting on an order of things and rule of law that would have prevented his own acquisition of wealth. For Putin this was the height of hypocrisy: Lawlessness gave these oligarchs their wealth. Now he was responsible to reform Russia without the very financial resources the oligarchs now held privately, yet these oligarchs now wanted to insist that Putin must follow rules they deemed appropriate, to solve problems their rape of the state created. As such - as a demonstration of his resolve - Putin slaughtered Khordokovskys massive oil company, Yukos and jailed Khordokovsky without mercy. Even if one agrees it was necessary, Russia much pay, if only to show that companies have a recourse against government interference. I opposed the treatment of Khordokovsky...even as I recognised that Russia would have been ungovernable had Putin not demonstrated that the Kremlin held the balance of power...but Russia must pay.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 01:34:38 +0000
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