Posted on 04/13/2009 4:18:30 AM PDT by Scanian
Two frightening events last week showed the unbridled contempt with which the neo-Soviet regime of proud KGB spy Vladimir Putin views the rule of law.
First, a Russian court in Siberia entered a $1.7 billion judgment against the Norwegian telecommunications firm Telenor, wiping out its stake in the major Russian telecom entity, Vimplecom. One Russian investment analyst said the ruling "makes the flesh creep." That's because "Western banks and companies are owed $453 billion by Russian corporations, an amount three times as much as they are owed by Chinese, Indian and Brazilian companies combined," and it does not appear that Putin's Kremlin is inclined to tender repayment now that Russia is mired in a horrific recession that has seen 75% of the stock market's equity vanish and the currency lose one-third of its value.
The proceedings in Siberia were a sham, reminiscent of the Soviet show trials and very similar to those that sent Kremlin-critical oil baron Mikhail Khodorkovsky to prison in Siberia just as he began to jostle with Putin for presidential power (Khodorkovsky, by they way, is currently being tried again on the same charges in an effort to lengthen his sentence, double jeopardy being a foreign concept in Russia; Putin is also moving aggressively to abolish jury trials). Jurisdiction was manufactured artificially in the Siberian forum, where a number of other Western firms (BP of the UK, Deutsche Bank of Germany and TeliSonera of Spain) have also seen their Russian investments evaporate. It's almost as if Putin had studied at the knee of Bernie Madoff.
But if the Telenor ruling made the flesh creep, the remarks of the Russian Supreme Court's Chief Justice Valery Zorkin made it do the hundred-yard dash.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
You sleep with dogs, you get fleas.
The Russians should learn from Goldman Sacs, Inc. Put your Chairman as Secretary of the Treasury and THEN take over companies. At least the Russians give you a court trial.
You arent that far wrong.
You would think that, at some point, the Russians will need the help of these firms in the future. Then what? Chavez pulled the same thing—he nationalized the Oil company holdings then realized he needed them back after all. Either way, the Piper will be paid.
Well, International Corporations did not deign to plunder Russia, far from it, they typically went into partnerships with Russian Companies and were generally minority investors in the enterprises.
Basically Putin’s russia is engaged in kleptocracy spree and sooner or later, it will backfire on them.
My point was #1 Do not trust Putin/Russian bureaucracy. They will change the rules when it pleases them.
Never, ever trust the Russians. (from an old “duck and cover” practioner)
What he realized is that under Communism one person can have far more control of a country, its people and more importantly “wealth” than under capitalism. You never know under Capitalism if someone is somehow going to become richer than you and therefore threaten your power.
So to make sure he is the richest most powerful of them all...he has decided his country should go back to Communism so that he and his cronies can have total control of all the wealth and power and the ability to destroy anyone who even threatens to take that away.
True, at the time they invested the money though, Putin was not stealing, though it should be said that when they saw what happened with Yukos Oil they should acted accordingly.
So add Russia to the new Cold War now, from VZ and Chavez to Putin’s Russia, it’s baacckk.
When you sup with the Devil, use a long spoon.
Very good article and comments (here and 3 at the link). Thanks for posting.
glad you liked the post
When a nation’s justice system becomes as perverted and hollow as these recent developments betray Russia’s as being, that nation is in serious trouble. Combined with Russia’s lack of opposition political parties and critical media, this dearth of checks and balances creates an emperor’s-new-clothes regime incapable of accurately perceiving reality or adapting to meet changing circumstances. That weakness brought down the USSR, and if Russians are not careful their history will repeat itself.
We almost at this point ourselves.
Hopefully it will result in accelerating capital flight. I’d say the Russia’s second biggest export after oil is probably Russians.
But hey, we're going to hold a tea-bag protest. / s
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