Leak exposes wealth of Putin inner circle, which could destabilize Russia.

Good stuff. Although, I am not sure how exposing the abuses of an authoritarian government will lead to destabilization.

The local citizenry are already well-aware of the abuse and are powerless. Many would be eager to join the gravy train.

However, if the Pandora papers expose US politicians...
 
When Forbes calculate the richest people in the world they do not count heads of state on the assumption that they probably stole the money.
 
Not to make excuses for corruption in Russia, but - Russians are well aware of their politicians enriching themselves. Just like Americans are well aware of their politicians enriching themselves. Confirming it yet again won't make a bit of difference, neither in Russia nor in the US.

One thing you have to say in favor of the US corrupt politicians, though, is the relative moderation of their corruption. It is usually in 10s of millions, below 100mil. Russians go a lot higher. Why - I don't know. Past a certain point, it doesn't make sense to grab more and more.
 
terr said:
Past a certain point, it doesn't make sense to grab more and more.
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At some point, the corrupt rich start wanting to raise their station in life in a more holistic manner, perhaps to gain acceptability with the old rich. A natural human desire to be accepted by what you think is your peer group.

Americans can take boorishness to a much higher level. It's gonna take a lot more money. The "fuck you" money stage and hedonistic/egotistic lifestyle has to be enjoyed first. And, that bar is rather high in America. Note the Musk-Bezos spat. The Epstein type of affair, its broad reach thru the annals of power , is relatively more accessible in other countries. So, you actually need less outside.

Yes, American politicians are relatively tame because Americans have rights and will be heard.
 
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Yes, American politicians are relatively tame because Americans have rights and will be heard.
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I don't know. Can you name the last politician in the US who lost his position because of financial corruption? I'd be hard pressed to name one. I mean, there is blatant corruption out there that is completely ignored (and is not even illegal). Stuff like Michelle Obama being hired (when her husband became Senator) as a "community liaison" for University of Chicago at $300K/year - position created just then. And as soon as Obamas left Chicago, the position was eliminated.

Or politicians' financial markets shenanigans. From Hillary's making $1000 into $100K in 10 months in the 70s to modern Congressmen quite legal insider trading.

But as I said, at least the corruption is fairly moderate. US politicians are apparently fairly cheap to buy.
 
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terr said:
Russians go a lot higher. Why - I don't know.
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The setup in the 90s in Russia is part of the answer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privatization_in_Russia

TL;DR-version: Russia decided (based on interpreting advice from Harvard economists) to give away state companies to all Russians, in the form of vouchers/papers on stock ownership. The key issue: Almost no Russians had any idea what these vouchers were actually worth. Meanwhile, the individuals that would become oligarchs starting buying the vouchers en masse from the rest of the population (far under real value) as most were only too happy to be able to get some food for the day in return for their piece of paper (the context being general chaos and famine due to too fast market reforms). Legalized systematic plundering. It's also a contributing factor why Russia is an autocracy today; Russians go like "we tried democracy, it sucked" based on these years in the 90s.
 
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Putin's Palace

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That particular palace does seem like some kind of bizarre gesture from some oligarch to Putin. It's a weird combination of ridiculous ostentatiousness with weirdly inept execution (from the videos that some people managed to make of the place). It's in the boonies, completely impractical, unsuitable for the climate, would cost an enormous fortune to staff and maintain and baffles everyone who tries to explain it. And it reportedly cost $1.5B (B!) to build so far and it is shabbily constructed and needs to be fixed up.

Russia has always been a fairly byzantine (heh) place, but this palace, why it was built, who built it, and who is going to live in it is a complete mystery.
 
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