Russia Is A Mafia State
While the US diplomatic cables leaked to WikiLeaks have mostly failed to disclose anything about Russia that was not known before, the sheer volume of the documents depicting the vast system of corruption that the Kremlin's puppet masters have dubbed the "power vertical" may indeed be a revelation to Western audiences. Going through the trove of diplomatic cables leaked to WikiLeaks, The Guardian's veteran correspondent, Luke Harding, describes Russia as a "corrupt, autocratic kleptocracy centred on the leadership of Vladimir Putin, in which officials, oligarchs, and organised crime are bound together to create a virtual mafia state." Arms trafficking, money laundering, personal enrichment, protection for gangsters, extortion and kickbacks, suitcases full of money, and secret offshore bank accounts in Cyprus: the cables paint a bleak picture of a political system in which it is often hard to distinguish between the activities of the government and organised crime.
