THE OLIGARCHS ARE BACK

 

 

The oligarchs are back in Russia and their presiding deity, the exiled maverick Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky, believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin may manipulate the democratic process to retain his power base; therefore, his regime should be overthrown by force. One can’t understand what made Berezovsky admit candidly that he is in cahoots with some of the Russian elite, which is planning a putsch against Putin. Are his admissions related to the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko in London the previous November? Are the US and the UK using him to initiate regime change in Russia?



RUSSIAN ROULETTE

Putin tried to neutralise the oligarchs of Russia

The oligarchs are now plotting revenge, from outside Russia

Litvinenko’s assassination is an intriguing element . . .



Berezovsky was one of the few beneficiaries of the Boris Yeltsin era, when the state assets were taken over by a few powerful men who became billionaires overnight. These oligarchs started feeling the heat when Putin used the long arm of the state to restructure the Russian polity. As expected, the oligarchs, including Boris Berezovsky, Roman Abramovich and Alexander Lebdev, all billionaires to boot, fled Russia and sought asylum in the UK. Undoubtedly, the three have contributed immensely to the British economy and sports, but their overt forays into politics have raised the hackles of Moscow. Their political activities have become more pronounced after the death of Litvinenko. A few months ago, Abramovich had given a detailed interview to the London based The Guardian and Berezovsky had followed suit. Earlier, the former World Chess champion Garry Kasparov (now under arrest after the Kremlin cracked down on protesters) had shared his views with the Wall Street Journal on how he intended to politically checkmate Putin.

Putin has made many enemies in his endeavour to neutralise the oligarchs and restore the lost pride of Russia. Additional pressure will be brought to bear on Putin to ensure that he is unable to amend the constitution to prolong his tenure beyond 2008, nor enabling him to make his protégé occupy the Presidential chair.