Putin’s relationship with his friends was... of reciprocity: ...supporting their raids on private businesses, providing ...no-bid state contracts ...… - Karen Dawisha

I expected a lot more criticism when I wrote the book... I think everyone is beginning to see the kind of person Putin is. What he did in Ukraine crossed a line, and that really mobilized the media to portray him as what he really is. ...I never meant for this book to bring down Mr. Putin; its purpose is to be educational... It may... provide evidence, but I would really just like it to educate readers about Russia, about Putin's presidency, and politics.

Putin's ...securing a monopoly position for select firms was a feature ...while deputy mayor. While he professed ...economic liberalization and private property, he ...acted to reduce competition ...and maximize profits for ...friends. In St. Petersburg, Åslund reported, "...Swedish and Finnish businessmen complained about Putin squeezing out their companies ...through ...lawless tax police, to the advantage of [friendly] companies ..."

[T]hese sanctions represented a public admission by the United States government of what it had known for over a decade... Putin has built a system based on massive predation not seen in Russia since the Tzars. Transparency International estimates $300 billion are paid every year in corruption. , according to official Russian Central Bank figures since 2005 have been $335 billion, and ... stated that Russia now has the highest income inequality of any country in the world.