Cebu_4_2
3rd September 2013, 07:01 PM
http://www.alternativeinsight.com/Putin_is_no_Rasputin.html
The Attack on the Oligarchs
It was inevitable that those who had gained excessive wealth and power from a system, in which most had little, would someday have to return much of their wealth to the community and be stripped of their power. So, what's the problem?
Although the complete facts are not available to those outside the inner confines of the Kremlin, Putin's wrath with the oligarchs transcends their financial ransacking of the country. It includes transfers of assets to foreign sources. It's noteworthy that Putin arrested Mikhail Khodorkovsky when Chevron Oil announced it was prepared to purchase twenty-five percent of Khodorkovsky's company, Yukos oil. Add Roman Abramovich's (Sibneft oil's major shareholder) transfer of Russian assets to buy a foreign football club, Britain's Chelsea soccer team, which would irk any nationalist.
Putin might be proceeding against the oligarchs for several reasons:
He wants to right a wrong, which is the diversion of national resources and wealth into the hands of a few. It has been reported that Putin privately met the oligarchs shortly after coming to power and promised that if they paid their taxes and stayed out of politics the state would not "revisit" the illicit origins of their fortunes. He has arrested Khodorkovsky for violating the pact.
He sees the opportunity to seize the assets of the industries owned by the oligarchs and return these assets to the state. Many companies have found loopholes in the tax laws and used them to avoid taxes. The favorite loophole is to incorporate companies in provinces that have special tax breaks. By demanding that Yukos pay $3.5 billion in back taxes, (since raised to $7.5 billion) while Yukos only has $1 billion in its treasury, will bring Yukos close to bankruptcy and force Yukos to sell off assets to raise capital. The state can capture Yukos' assets and own a large percentage of Yukos.
He fears the oligarchs might sell the natural resources of his country to foreign corporations or governments that Putin does not favor. During Yeltsin's reign, capital fled Russia in huge amounts. Roman Abramovich, oil giant Sibneft's major shareholder,and Boris Berezovsky, who once controlled automobile factories, media, banks, airlines and oil firms, transferred wealth to other countries, notably Great Britain.Boris Berezovsky, who uses a new name, Platon Ilyich Yelenin, while traveling outside of Russia, has been granted political asylum in Britain.Vladimir Gusinsky, the founder of independent NTV network in 1993, invested in Israel and sought asylum for awhile in Israel after being indicted for fraud. Several of Khodorkovsky's associates have fled to Israel. Agence France-Presse, November 03, 2003 reported that control of Mikhail Khodorkovsky's shares in the Russian oil giant Yukos have passed to British banker Jacob Rothschild, under a deal concluded prior to Khodorkovsky's arrest.
He fears that, since several of the oligarchs are of the Jewish faith, it is possible that Israel might try to influence them to obtain special consideration, especially in the purchases of gas and oil. Putin is more aligned with the Arab nations and any special consideration to Israel would be against his foreign policy and disturb his relations with Arab leaders.
He realizes wealth generates more wealth and power and the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few will, sooner or later, means a transfer of power to those who have gathered the wealth. Forbes magazine estimates that the 100 richest Russian oligarchs have a combined wealth amounting to twenty-five percent of their country’s GDP. All the billionaires in America combined only represent 6% of GDP. Putin must halt the concentration of wealth before political power shifts to those who have economic power and before the shift cannot be easily reversed.
The attacks on Putin, inside and outside of Russia, might be organized by the oligarchs and their associates. By reigning in the oligarchs, Putin will be able to control a source of dissent and political competition. He can then reconstruct Russia in accord with his designs. To make Russia an international power, he will need international friends. He can find them in the growing Asian powerhouses - China and India.
The Attack on the Oligarchs
It was inevitable that those who had gained excessive wealth and power from a system, in which most had little, would someday have to return much of their wealth to the community and be stripped of their power. So, what's the problem?
Although the complete facts are not available to those outside the inner confines of the Kremlin, Putin's wrath with the oligarchs transcends their financial ransacking of the country. It includes transfers of assets to foreign sources. It's noteworthy that Putin arrested Mikhail Khodorkovsky when Chevron Oil announced it was prepared to purchase twenty-five percent of Khodorkovsky's company, Yukos oil. Add Roman Abramovich's (Sibneft oil's major shareholder) transfer of Russian assets to buy a foreign football club, Britain's Chelsea soccer team, which would irk any nationalist.
Putin might be proceeding against the oligarchs for several reasons:
He wants to right a wrong, which is the diversion of national resources and wealth into the hands of a few. It has been reported that Putin privately met the oligarchs shortly after coming to power and promised that if they paid their taxes and stayed out of politics the state would not "revisit" the illicit origins of their fortunes. He has arrested Khodorkovsky for violating the pact.
He sees the opportunity to seize the assets of the industries owned by the oligarchs and return these assets to the state. Many companies have found loopholes in the tax laws and used them to avoid taxes. The favorite loophole is to incorporate companies in provinces that have special tax breaks. By demanding that Yukos pay $3.5 billion in back taxes, (since raised to $7.5 billion) while Yukos only has $1 billion in its treasury, will bring Yukos close to bankruptcy and force Yukos to sell off assets to raise capital. The state can capture Yukos' assets and own a large percentage of Yukos.
He fears the oligarchs might sell the natural resources of his country to foreign corporations or governments that Putin does not favor. During Yeltsin's reign, capital fled Russia in huge amounts. Roman Abramovich, oil giant Sibneft's major shareholder,and Boris Berezovsky, who once controlled automobile factories, media, banks, airlines and oil firms, transferred wealth to other countries, notably Great Britain.Boris Berezovsky, who uses a new name, Platon Ilyich Yelenin, while traveling outside of Russia, has been granted political asylum in Britain.Vladimir Gusinsky, the founder of independent NTV network in 1993, invested in Israel and sought asylum for awhile in Israel after being indicted for fraud. Several of Khodorkovsky's associates have fled to Israel. Agence France-Presse, November 03, 2003 reported that control of Mikhail Khodorkovsky's shares in the Russian oil giant Yukos have passed to British banker Jacob Rothschild, under a deal concluded prior to Khodorkovsky's arrest.
He fears that, since several of the oligarchs are of the Jewish faith, it is possible that Israel might try to influence them to obtain special consideration, especially in the purchases of gas and oil. Putin is more aligned with the Arab nations and any special consideration to Israel would be against his foreign policy and disturb his relations with Arab leaders.
He realizes wealth generates more wealth and power and the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few will, sooner or later, means a transfer of power to those who have gathered the wealth. Forbes magazine estimates that the 100 richest Russian oligarchs have a combined wealth amounting to twenty-five percent of their country’s GDP. All the billionaires in America combined only represent 6% of GDP. Putin must halt the concentration of wealth before political power shifts to those who have economic power and before the shift cannot be easily reversed.
The attacks on Putin, inside and outside of Russia, might be organized by the oligarchs and their associates. By reigning in the oligarchs, Putin will be able to control a source of dissent and political competition. He can then reconstruct Russia in accord with his designs. To make Russia an international power, he will need international friends. He can find them in the growing Asian powerhouses - China and India.