Sep 5, 2008

But what about the oligarchs?


Apparently, I'm continuing a series of posts drawing attention to the real victims of the conflict in Georgia. A couple days ago, I wrote about Stalin's memory. Today, I'm writing about Russian billionaires.

NY Times: As Russia’s hot war with Georgia threatens to become a colder, drawn-out conflict with the West, the global ambitions of some of its politically connected, controversial billionaires could suffer a setback.

The oligarchs, as they are widely known, have already paid a price from Russia’s forceful assertion in South Ossetia: the stock market recently hit a two-year low as foreign investors left in droves.

And while the sharpest of stock market swoons would only nick the oligarch’s giant fortunes, of more lasting effect, perhaps, is the notion gaining currency in some financial circles that their close ties to Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin and his handpicked president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, may elevate the risk of doing business with them.

Yay capitalism!

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