... "...Putin’s political philosophy and favorite concepts—managed democracy, administrative vertical, dictatorship of law, a 'control' shot to the b… - Karen Dawisha

... in 2005 became head of . In... 2013 Putin announced... $43 billion... borrowed from Russia’s pension fund... to stimulate the economy, including $14 billion to build three infrastructure projects, two... by Russian Railways. The Russian free media... forecast... such... would... stimulate... corruption. ...Navalnyy ...criticized Yakunin’s entry to... Russia’s billionaires... as the head of a state-owned firm ...a salaried employee ..."In all other countries, the railways are used for movement, but we use them for stealing."

Sal'ye summed up the operation and Putin’s ambition... "...Cook up a legally defective contract ...take a license to the Customs Office... open the border... send the goods abroad... and put the money in your pocket. ...It was ...not put out to tender. They needed their 'partners'... of the shadow economy, criminal and mafia structures, front companies that could ensure this... . ...[H]is ...lamentations about the disappearing firms deserve nothing but contempt."

Putin’s relationship with his friends was... of reciprocity: ...supporting their raids on private businesses, providing ...no-bid state contracts ...allowing the courts to legalize their activities and criminalize those of ...opponents. In return ...they became the bulwark of his base ...helped finance and secure his electoral victories ... removed ...enemies... and... paid him . All... began in St. Petersburg in the early 1990s, when he started to promote ...s from ...Leningrad and ...