RE: Old article - Ivanishvili still a threat5 Dec 2019 21:21
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/03/21/oligarchs-are-suffocating-whats-left-democracy-eastern-europe/%3foutputType=amp
Ukraine , Georgia and Moldova mentioned, interesting FRR are involved in all 3. Maybe the CIA or USA do have a bigger plan.
Democracy Dies in Darkness
DemocracyPost
The oligarchs are suffocating what’s left of democracy in Eastern Europe
By Mikheil Saakashvili
March 21, 2019 at 10:00 AM EDT
Mikheil Saakashvili served as president of Georgia from 2004 until 2013.
Days before the hotly contested Ukrainian presidential election on March 31, incumbent Petro Poroshenko’s party faces credible allegations of voter bribery. It’s not hard to guess what will happen next. The oligarchic clique will steal the election, and in response, international observers will accuse local authorities of vote-rigging. But instead of addressing the symptoms of democratic backsliding, it’s time to treat the root cause: informal power.
Moldova offers a textbook example. Oil and banking tycoon Vladimir Plahotniuc bankrolls the country’s second-largest political force and has forged alliances with other parties to consolidate power. Although Plahotniuc exerts total control over parliament, law enforcement and the courts, he has no interest in running for office. His nickname in Moldova is “the puppeteer,” and the elections last month only strengthened his hold on the country.
Moldova has a per capita gross domestic product of just $3,226. Plahotniuc’s wealth is estimated at $3 billion, making him a million times wealthier than the average constituent. Unsurprisingly, true power resides with him, not with elected officials. The same applies to two other countries bordering Russia: Georgia and Ukraine.
When I was president of Georgia, our country was lauded as the top reformer in the world. Today, Georgia has its own Plahotniuc: Bidzina Ivanishvili, the chairman of the ruling party. He has a known net worth of $4.9 billion, equivalent to nearly one-third of the country’s GDP. How he accrued this wealth — in Russia, of course — is dimly understood. Ivanishvili rules Georgia as his fiefdom, with loyal courts and a repressive security apparatus.
Ivanishvili’s political engagement is not driven by his vision for Georgia’s future. One would be hard-pressed to describe his party’s platform, policy proposals or any substantive achievements since he came to power in 2012. Rather, Ivanishvili viewed his party as yet another investment — and he is reaping the returns. Exerting informal control over public institutions, the oligarch has monopolized Georgia’s economy. Transparency International recently singled out Georgia as an egregious example of “state capture.”
Ukraine, larger than Moldova and Georgia, has more than one oligarch. The wealthiest is Rinat Akhmetov, a steel magnate whose factories have
Sign In
Follow the stocks
