To be clear, what Vance is describing here is a Putin-style system of state capitalism. Oligarchs have to align themselves with Kremlin priorities to maintain their wealth and influence. If they challenge the state, they face bogus investigations and pressure to force them out.
Loyal oligarchs are rewarded with access to state contracts or monopolistic opportunities, creating a symbiotic relationship between private wealth and state power. They can only operate within strict boundaries set by the state, such as the ban on "promoting LGBT".
They are kept in line by government regulations, tax policies, and selective law enforcement to discipline them and ensure their alignment with state goals. That's how Russia ensures there is "no meaningful distinction between the public and the private sector".
Needless to say, it's a system which guarantees a high level of corruption and cronyism. The government chooses who wins and loses, purely on political grounds, regardless of actual market conditions.
How this ends up is visible from what Russia is currently going through. "Raiders" supported by the Kremlin are seizing companies arbitrarily to bring them under the control of Putin's allies. It's leading to much of the economy coming under the control of a few powerful people.
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1/ Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and his family have been given nearly 150 medals and awards since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine – one for him every 40 days – including an Order of Merit for Dentistry and a medal for excellence as an ambulance worker. ⬇️
2/ An investigation by the independent Russian news website Verstka has revealed the scale of the Kadyrovs' medal acquisition, which represents a combination of self-bestowed awards and those from the Russian state and other institutions.
3/ 82 of the awards are internal Chechen ones, such as awards recognising the centenary of the Chechen Republic and medals such as "For Services to the Chechen Republic" and the title of "Hero of the Chechen Republic".
1/ More details have emerged of a recently publicised database of Ukrainian children for adoption by Russian families. While it has been condemned in the context of Russian kidnapping of Ukrainian children, the background story is more complex. ⬇️
2/ The database is hosted by the Ministry of Education and Science of the 'Luhansk People's Republic', but it is not a new product. The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy previously dealt with guardianship issues but transferred this responsibility in the summer of 2024.
3/ A previous version of the database already existed but was redeveloped by the LPR's Ministry of Education and Science to meet Russian federal standards in 2025. Its launch was recently announced on Telegram, prompting this week's news stories about it.
1/ Badly injured Russian soldiers who have lost arms and legs and have severe shrapnel injuries are being beaten by officers and forced into carrying out assaults, according to a soldier's account. The constant suffering and cruelty is driving men to desertion and suicide. ⬇️
2/ A soldier from the Battalion of the 55th Separate Guards Motorised Rifle Brigade (military unit 55115) says in a video that he was denied medical leave after being wounded by fragments and was sent on a combat mission instead with severe inflammation and a rotting leg.
3/ The man says he was not allowed to return to Russia for medical treatment. Instead, soldiers are now all being treated in field hospitals in the occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions. (Other accounts suggest this is being done to reduce the high number of desertions.)
1/ The Trump Administration is reportedly finalising a peace proposal that would allow Russia to take over the entirety of the Donetsk region and force Ukraine to surrender the unoccupied portion. All territory currently occupied by Russia would remain under Russian control. ⬇️
2/ According to Bloomberg, the deal would involve Russia taking over the entire Donbas and freezing the lines of contact elsewhere. The reported aim is to freeze the war and pave the way for a ceasefire and technical talks on a definitive peace settlement.
3/ It's not clear whether Russia would have to return any territory or hand over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The agreement would reportedly present Ukraine and Europe with a take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum.
1/ Russian field medics have been given only six days of training before immediately being sent to their deaths as stormtroopers, due to commanders ignoring the value of their specialty, according to a scathing commentary from a Russian army medical team. ⬇️
2/ The author of the '5 mg. KGV' Telegram channel describes his experience in providing medical training alongside another military medical specialist, a man with the callsign 'Shlyakhtich':
"He organized the training processes for self-help as best he could.
3/ "He butted heads with the operational and combat training leadership about increasing the time allocated for medicine, and in general he was the first to justify applications for first aid kits, their echeloning, and equipment.
1/ Occupied towns and villages are suffering far worse than Donetsk city in the current water crisis. The village of Novoluhanske faces a particularly surreal situation – it has had no water for three years despite being on the shore of one of Ukraine's largest reservoirs. ⬇️
2/ Novoluhanske was on the front line for eight years, just outside the Russian-occupied 'Donetsk People's Republic'. It fell to Russian forces on 27 July 2022. Despite heavy damage, around 550 out of the original 3,800 inhabitants still live there.
3/ The village is located on the western shore of the Vuglehirske Reservoir, one of the largest in Ukraine. The reservoir was created in 1967 to provide water to the now-destroyed Vuhlehirska Power Station on the north shore.