Business as Usual

So today on BBC News there was an article on Secretary of State Rice's trip to Europe, with an emphasis on Russia and it's future as a democracy. In the article, the role of rule of law is mentioned. Briefly, the rule of law essentially is an belief that no one is below the law and that everyone must follow the law. There is more too it as well, such as the idea that the laws are codified and such, but the core idea that everyone is treated fairly in the eyes of the law. This is not the case in Russia.

In Russia, there is no real rule of law. It's a joke. In the case of Khodorkovsky and the Yugo's deal, there was no rule of law. Khodorkovsky was a Russian oligarch, one of the few men who was able to turn the chaos of the Soviet collapse into huge personal wealth. There was no rule of law during this time. It was every man for himself, and those that could use their political connections (which were essential if one wished to accomplish anything) could gain all the natural resources and industries at bargain basement prices. Khodorkovsky and other men fought battles over the profitable industries, bank fraud was epic, and men died for control of the media which were slowly gobbled up by the "businessmen." These oligarch's used their power to play politics in order to hold on to this wealth. Ex-President Yeltsin had one of the worst oligarch's as his personal money manager for many years, Boris Berezovsky. Now this is starting to change, but it might not be for the better.

Almost 15 years later, Russia has settled down and has a stable government. The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin has decided to take the power back from the oligarchs. Citizens of Russia cheer for his "reforms" in which he has essentially made an ultimatum to the oligarchs to stay out of politics and or else. The state has slowly reclaimed control over the media. The previously mentioned Khodorkovsky saw what the "else" meant. His oil company was once one of the largest and wealthiest in Russia, now it's bankrupt and faces billions of dollars in tax liability to the Russian government.

Khodorkovsky made the mistake of trying to again play politics. He made the ultimate mistake of not financing the power party controlled by Putin, United Russia, but the parties of Putin's opponents. He now sits in jail for charges of fraud and tax evasion.

Is this the right course of action? To punish those that have fleeced the Russian public of billions? No. There are other oligarchs out there that have done worse, they have not faced the penalties that Khodorkovsky has. Others still continue to mingle in politics, but they do so on the side of Putin. They continue to hold on to their power.

Russia can not help but forget about the past crimes of Russia, no matter how hard it is. Billions of dollars have already been taken out of the Russian economy illegally and hidden in off-shore bank accounts. This trend will only continue if crackdowns on oligarchs continue.

Yugansk, the main oil producing subsidiary of Khodorkovsky's Yugo's was taken unfairly and illegally from the company by the Russian government in order to pay the tax bills. The billion dollar tax bills were ordered to be paid in a ridiculous little amount of time, and then the government takes away the main revenue producing arm of the company? The company was then put up on the auction block and sold for well below market price, it's deja vue all over again from when the companies were first sold. Yugansk was sold to a shell corporation, which was then bought by another oil producing corporation with strong ties to the state, Rosneft. Now it appears that the Chinese government may have had a hand in lending money to Rosneft to buy Yugansk. It's just business as usual in Russia.

Putin has declared a "Dictatorship of law" rather than rule. How aptly that name fits. Like a dictator Putin picks and chooses the people he goes after with the state controlled criminal system. Sec. Rice stated, "and when we have differences, as we sometimes do, we have to work through those with respect for the differences, respect for both sides." No, we don't. Russia will never be a true democracy if cannot follow the basic rule of law that all democracies must. I know that our government needs Russia's cooperation for so many things during this time, but we need to stop placating poor governments for short term gains when the long term is so crucial to the continued survival of democracy and the rule of law.

People complain about how bad US politicans are, and how easily bought they are. But we have it easy compared to Russia. Our system isn't perfect, but nothing is. Russians have a long hard fight ahead to become a true democracy for all. Their history will take a long time for many to forgive and forget, but one day, if they're lucky, it will happen. Here's to no more business as usual in Russia.