Tycoon Takeover

Newsweek, April, 2004 by Christian Caryl

It's no secret that a handful of "oligarchs" dominate the Russian economy, but until now the details have been murky. No one knew all the names in the oligarchy, exactly what they own, how many industries they dominate or to what effect. Are oligarchs leading the modernization of Russia, as they claim, or crippling progress? Answers have been hidden behind the thicket of shell companies that still obscure Russian accounting. "This is an absurd situation," says the World Bank's chief economist in Russia, Christof Ruehl. "It is one of the biggest countries on earth and no one knows how concentrated the economy is."

The World Bank dispatched dozens of researchers to cut through the murk and produce the first clear view of just who controls Russia. Last week it released the...

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