Inside the Putin Mafia with Catherine Belton

Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has shone a spotlight onto Russia’s oligarchs. How does the Kremlin exert influence over them? And with sanctions beginning to bite, what does the future hold? Catherine Belton, Russia reporter for the Washington Post, talks to Nick Cohen about the Kremlin’s iron grip on Russia’s elite, and her own run in with oligarchs over her book Putin’s People.

• “The state propaganda machine can’t cover up the level of casualties forever.”
• “Putin has an inferiority complex. He needs the external trappings of wealth to believe he is Number One.”
• “UK newspapers shy away from reporting on these individuals because they know the legal costs are high.”
• “These oligarchs are hostages to Putin because he has a monopoly over court decisions.”
• “The Yeltsin tycoons have seen 30 years of empire-building undone in one fell swoop.”

https://www.patreon.com/bunkercast

Written and presented by Nick Cohen. Producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Assistant producer: Elina Ganatra. Lead producer: Jacob Jarvis. Audio production by Alex Rees. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

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