No one is immune in the Kremlin’s in-fighting
A PRIVATE JET carrying a Russian former minister and billionaire lands in a VIP Moscow airport from Italy where he resides in a plush villa. Lured to Moscow for the birthday party of a former colleague and friend, he gets into a limousine, but is quickly apprehended by the FSB, Russia’s secret police. They take him to jail, and charge him with stealing millions of dollars from Russian taxpayers.
He joined the government of Dmitry Medvedev, the prime minister, in 2012. He was put in charge of “open government”—an initiative to modernise government affairs by transforming them into electronic form. Like much of Mr Medvedev’s modernisation this was largely a show. The post was abolished in 2018, and Mr Abyzov left the government to enjoy the fruits of his labour. A few years ago his lifestyle would have served as a model for other ex-apparatchiks.
Mr Abyzov had also upset some powerful oligarchs. Mikhail Fridman, the billionaire banker who owns Alfa Group, is pursuing him through courts for a large credit repayment; Viktor Vekselberg, another oligarch, is suing him for $500m in a business dispute.
Each case may be different, but as Kirill Rogov and Nikolai Petrov, Russian political analysts, argue in their recent report on the first year of Mr Putin’s new term as president, “counter-elite economic repressions have become a systemic and crucial element of the political system.” Whereas only three high-ranking officials were prosecuted in the years between 2001 and 2005, the number of cases against senior members of the government and the Duma reached 35 in 2018.
México Últimas Noticias, México Titulares
Similar News:También puedes leer noticias similares a ésta que hemos recopilado de otras fuentes de noticias.
Mueller report is just the start of a new Russia showdownRobert Mueller's latest service to America is all but complete. But the reverberations from his yet-to-be-revealed report could amount to inestimable political and constitutional consequences.
Leer más »
Trump hits key 2020 state Michigan with Russia probe behind him and new Obamacare fight aheadTrump's new plan to scrap Obamacare will put the focus back on one of the president's more damaging policy pushes just as bad news for his administration had begun to dissipate.
Leer más »
Opinion | Russia or no Russia, Trump is still a lousy presidentTrump lacks the intellect and integrity for the most important job in the world.
Leer más »
The legal way the rich get their kids into elite colleges: Huge donations for yearsAs a national college admissions scandal continues to generate public outrage, there are still plenty of wealthy parents who get their kids into school the old-fashioned way — by spending lots of money legally.
Leer más »
Abandoned frescoes hint at the past lives of Europe's eliteWhen Romain Veillon went to Italy five years ago to photograph the country's abandoned mansions, he was struck by the forgotten frescoes covering most of the crumbling villas.
Leer más »
The legal way the rich get their kids into elite colleges: Huge donations for yearsAs a national college admissions scandal continues to generate public outrage, there are still plenty of wealthy parents who get their kids into school the old-fashioned way — by spending lots of money legally.
Leer más »
To Understand The History Of Elite College Admissions, Just Follow The MoneyThe recent college admissions scandal put a new focus on the fairness of the process in the U.S. But have those with money and influence always had an unfair advantage?
Leer más »
Wealthy New Yorkers are dropping $375 an hour on prep courses to get their kids into $50,000 kindergartens, and it's the start of a multimillion-dollar, elite college spending spreeFor rich New Yorkers, competition to get kids into the 'Baby Ivies' — private kindergartens that cost up to $50,000 — is as high as the Ivy Leagues.
Leer más »