Put assets on the table! What lessons should Russian oligarchs learn?

Dmitry Travin, economist

Almost simultaneously, information came that the "oligarch" Abramovich was being deprived of assets in Canada, since he was associated with the Kremlin's policies, and that of the "oligarch" Deripaska in Russia, since he criticized the Kremlin's policies. You can, of course, in this case, just be happy for our "worthy citizens": the guys got what they deserved. They are deprived of what is "acquired by overwork." But something else is more interesting here. Such stories, as well as the stories of the "oligarchs" Friedman and Aven, "suffering" in London from being forced to live "on one salary," are small bricks from which the new Russia will be built in the future. Simply put, these are the most important lessons for the Russian elites, who in the future will have to rebuild our country after the current catastrophe.

And do not say that history, they say, does not teach anyone. She does not teach janitors, cashiers or plumbers who study her in class, not in their own skin. But people who have billions and lose at least tens of millions of them (and in the future they can lose everything!), History teaches. And the future "oligarchs" are also being taught, as they compare the dubious benefits that can be obtained in authoritarian regimes with the increasingly obvious risks associated with the fact that in such regimes neither the janitors nor the "oligarchs" are protected from arbitrariness. And even having fled abroad, you also find yourself not protected, because past sins drag you into the abyss.

Democratic countries in their time, one way or another, went through similar lessons. New generations of elites - political, business, journalistic - realized that it was more profitable to negotiate among themselves and build democracy, instead of negotiating with the state to take money from a competitor. Perhaps democratic agreements are inconvenient for turning from a multimillionaire into a billionaire in an instant? It is easier to become a billionaire through outright robbery. But isn't it better to remain a multimillionaire and sleep peacefully than to burst with money and wait for the same security forces to come after you, who at one time, at your request, came for a competitor?