Jun 23, 2020
There are few other countries in the world that have wielded money and influence as well as the modern Russian state, to the point of purchasing impunity and acquiescence to their status quo. And this is not all simply because of a "master strategy" by Vladimir Putin, but instead a vast and complex system of illicit enrichment and state capture by his network of siloviki and willing oligarch businessmen.
It is this network and its operative methods that is the focus of a fascinating new book by former Financial Times journalist Catherine Belton.
Belton joins with Robert Amsterdam on the Departures to talk about the conclusions and findings of her book, while also reminiscing about what's changed since the two of them shared many long days on the court benches of Moscow's Meshchansky Court during the first trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky.