QOTD: "You Need To Be A Criminologist" To Understand Russia

 

“Everyone tries to think about Russia as a sovereign state and Putin as a leader acting in national interest. You think you can apply political science to Russia. You need to apply criminal science. You need to be a criminologist to understand Russia. People don’t go into government to serve the country. They go into government to steal money.” (emphasis added)-- Bill Browder, American-born British financier and former investor in Russian oil and gas industries before becoming an adversary of war criminal Vladimir Putin. Browder has been a crusader against the deep and pervasive corruption in the Russian system, alleging that Putin and his oligarchs have stolen a trillion dollars from the Russian people in the past 20 years. The similarities between a U.S. organized crime family and Putin's regime are stark.

Browder spoke at a New York City event to promote his second book, "Freezing Order," which explores Putin's money laundering, theft of Russia's sovereign wealth, and the murders he's ordered to conceal his crimes.