There is lots of talk these days about “Russian oligarchs” — how wealthy they are, how sanctions against Russia are affecting them or directed against them, and what they are doing to protect their assets during the current conflict. But people are conflating “oligarch” with “filthy rich guy” when in fact they are quite different.
The prefix “oli-” comes from Greek and means “a few”. For example, an oligopoly is an industry that is controlled by a few large companies, as contrasted with a monopoly, where there is just one (as indicated by the prefix “mono”).
Now, let’s look at the words that describe how countries are ruled. A democracy is where the people rule — usually by electing a group of leaders to rule on their behalf, and where those leaders are accountable to the people. A monarchy is where one person rules, usually a king or queen. And an oligarchy is where a small group of people rule.
Russia is not an oligarchy.
The Russian “oligarchs” emerged after the cold war, and used their connections as well as deals associated with post-communism privatisation to accumulate significant wealth. They gained control of huge businesses in sectors like energy and mining.
With that scale of wealth obviously comes power. But are they part of a group that rules the country? No. Putin does not sit around a table with a bunch of his buddies and make political decisions. In fact, it may well be the reverse. While an “oligarch” may control a previously state-owned oil field, the liability side of their balance sheet is something that is priceless — the favour that led to it in the first place. So if Putin calls and wants something from one of the members of this group, he probably gets it. Add if “oligarchs” are inconvenienced because their superyacht have been seized or need to be moved somewhere safe, they can’t travel abroad, or get their broken iPhones fixed, I doubt very much if Putin cares.
In Russia, the concentration of power and rule is largely with Putin.
If anything, a country like China, which is ruled by a committee, is more of an oligarchy. Countries that are family-ruled, like North Korea or Saudi Arabia, could also be considered oligarchies.
Bottom line: despite their huge wealth and the power that arises from that, don’t think the “Russian oligarchs” have any influence on Putin’s foreign policy and efforts to restore the Soviet Union.
This is also posted at [Medium]
