Russia, Putin and the West, Part I

The first programme in this series, broadcast on 19 January, made for riveting viewing - not least because we so rarely see Putin in action on our screens. I found the second part of this instalment, the battle with the former oil oligarch Khodorkovsky, particularly fascinating. This is what I understood the programme to show:Khodorkovsky said that he had built up his oil empire without breaking the law, but admitted that he had used every available legal loophole. His company, Yukos, had become mega-rich. When Putin wanted to levy additional taxes on the oil companies, they refused to pay and fought back. As part of his fight-back, Khodorovsky accused Rosneft, the then small state-owned oil company, of corruption. True though this was, this was a case of the pot calling the kettle black; and Putin retaliated by launching a investigation against Khodorkovsky's company for corruption and tax-evasion. Khodorkovsky in turn fought back by buying a newspaper to back a political party he was forming which claimed to champion democracy against Putin's increasing authoritarianism. Putin had told the Russian oligarchs that they could enjoy their wealth as long as they did not interfere in politics, but if they did interfere in politics, he would smash them. That is what he did to Khodorkovsky: he was tried, found guilty and is languishing in prison. If all the loopholes Khodorkovsky had used were indeed legal, then it would be true that his conviction was an abuse of the law. Khodorkovsky's company was then taken over by Rosneft, much whose enormous wealth is now used to feather the nests of the notoriously corrupt Russian state apparatus.I hold no brief for Putin, but the story made me reflect on the parallels between Russia's oligarchy and our own. Ours, too, exploit and create every conceivable loophole for tax avoidance and for amassing gigantic wealth. Ours, too, consists not only of financiers and business magnates but of press moguls who are closely allied with them and who claim to defend democracy whenever the slightest suggestions are aired to regulate them. The influence of finance, commerce and the press on politics in Britain - and even more so in the United States - is absolutely toxic. I would not wish to see a British government going outside the law as Putin has done, but I would like to see a much more determined effort to confront the corruption and tax avoidance of our oligarchy.