February 24, 200422 yr The Troll was named a successor by Boris for a reason: Communists would have won in the 1999-2000 elections and Boris would have been jailed almost immediately. It's hilarious the way Troll deals with oligarchy tho: you have 6 months to take your billions and leave the country. What, you want to stay? Ok, I'll take away your billions and put your ass behind bars. Sounds good? Grrreat.
February 24, 200422 yr The Troll was named a successor by Boris for a reason: Communists would have won in the 1999-2000 elections and Boris would have been jailed almost immediately. It's hilarious the way Troll deals with oligarchy tho: you have 6 months to take your billions and leave the country. What, you want to stay? Ok, I'll take away your billions and put your ass behind bars. Sounds good? Grrreat. Ok, that's not entirely correct: the most oil-rich (and yet interestingly enough the least covered by the media...hmm) region of the country is still controlled by the former prime-minister Chernomirdin and his cabal, er, advisory board. These people are worth over 10 Billion and The Troll doesn't touch them. Chodorkovski, currently jailed billionaire, is a fool. He had ample opportunity to flee like his fellow billionaire Berezo (one who took Channel 6 away from Ted Turner by basically threatening to blow his and Jane's brains out in the mid-90s) or another one Abramovich who just bought English soccer franchise in Chelsea for 300+ Mill......but was naive and arrogant enough to think that Western democracies would cry foul and protect him and continued to oppose the Troll.
February 24, 200422 yr Author I haven't heard any real good Russian political talk since I was in college. I had a great prof who used to take classes over there for a month during January's every two years. I always wanted to go, but never could afford it.
February 24, 200422 yr I haven't heard any real good Russian political talk since I was in college. I had a great prof who used to take classes over there for a month during January's every two years. I always wanted to go, but never could afford it. It's your luck - Nuke_Cleveland is an expert emeritus on everything Communism and USSR. Hell, his nic and sig perfectly agree with one Soviet ideal in particular. PS Poor Ted Turner never really knew the people he was dealing with.
February 24, 200422 yr Author It's your luck - Nuke_Cleveland is an expert emeritus on everything Communism and USSR. Hell, his nic and sig perfectly agree with one Soviet ideal in particular. PS Poor Ted Turner never really knew the people he was dealing with. Yeah, strong arming the Russian mafia isn't exactly a bright move
February 24, 200422 yr Yeah, strong arming the Russian mafia isn't exactly a bright move Russian government IS the Russian mafia. The stereotypes and caricatures you see in the movies are based on small-time thugz. You talk about Chaney profiting a little from his holdings in Haliburton.....The former prime-minister Chernomirdin used to be the second most powerful official in the nation after Boris back in the mid-90s. Then he was "demoted" to head dimplomat to Ukrain status, which gave him enough free time for his extra-carricular activities: with help of shadow characters he gradually seized and monopolized one of country's super-profitable oil regions. He is still technically "government", complete with TOTAL immunity, and at the same time he is unofficially one of the world's richest men, and unlike Birkshire Hathaway or Bill Gates, his group didn't have to spend 20-40 years to get what they wanted. But by no means should you feel sorry for the likes of Gucinsky (former billionaire and owner of the awesome NTV -- a politically dissenting private tv channel which was HBO+, ESPN and CNN rolled into one before Troll came to power and litigated the s*** out of it) and especially Abramovich, Chodorchovski, Berezo, etc -- these oligarchs and barons used Privatization of industries and property, employed every every legal and illegal (I am not even gonna mention immoral) trick in every book during economically and politically volatile times to take control of their incredible, LIQUID holdings/wealth. They ruin many lives one way or another and kill anyone (politicians, law enforcement, etc) who truly threaten them..........And at the same time, they look like your John Kerrys and John Edwards - extremely smart and articulate and even charming people who you wouldn't don't look like your text-book sinister mustache-twisters. People who jerk over Michael Douglas's Greed Is Good speech are lucky they never crossed paths with unchecked capitalism as personified by these smooth operators. There are no good guys in this strife, trust me.
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