Kremligarchs
Kremligarchs
Term (RU): Кремлигархи
Schema: DefinedTerm
Working Definition
Business figures whose wealth and security are contingent on personal loyalty to the Putin circle; they function as economic agents of the regime rather than independent oligarchs of the 1990s type.
Analytical Use on This Site
The term marks the post-2000 shift documented by Dawisha and subsequent analysts: from relatively autonomous oligarchs who could bargain with the political centre to figures whose access to rents, state contracts and personal safety depends on demonstrated loyalty. Control of major state-owned enterprises and preferential procurement concentrates resources inside this network. The concept is central to Thesis 1 and to the mechanism of kleptocratic extraction.
Related Terms
See Also
Key Sources & Evidence Base
- Atlantic Council terminology and Sanctioned Kleptocracy series secondary
- Karen Dawisha – Putin’s Kleptocracy (2014) secondary