Karen Dawisha

“Putin’s relationship with his friends was... of reciprocity: ...supporting their raids on private businesses, providing ...no-bid state contracts ...allowing the courts to legalize their activities and criminalize those of ...opponents. In return ...they became the bulwark of his base ...helped finance and secure his electoral victories ... removed ...enemies... and... paid him {{w|tribute}}. All... began in St. Petersburg in the early 1990s, when he started to promote ...{{w|comrade}}s from ...Leningrad and {{w|Dresden}} {{w|KGB}} ...”

“By 2013 the {{w|Forbes}} Russia list of the wealthiest businessmen in Russia was replete with friends of Putin.”

“{{w|Vladimir Yakunin}}... in 2005 became head of {{w|Russian Railways}}. In... 2013 Putin announced... $43 billion... borrowed from Russia’s pension fund... to stimulate the economy, including $14 billion to build three infrastructure projects, two... by Russian Railways. The Russian free media... forecast... such... would... stimulate... corruption. ...Navalnyy ...criticized Yakunin’s entry to... Russia’s billionaires... as the head of a state-owned firm ...a salaried employee ..."In all other countries, the railways are used for movement, but we use them for stealing."”

“Smirnov met Putin in 1990 in Germany... He... headed one of the companies... in the [early 1990s] food scandal... millions being stolen; [beginning in 1994] he and Putin sat... on the board of the... SPAG... accused of laundering money for Russian and Columbian organized crime; and he signed over a monopoly position to the Petersburg Fuel Company, which he co-owned with Barsukov-Kumarin. ...Putin ...appointed Smirnov head of Tekhsnabeksport, one of the world’s largest suppliers of nuclear goods and services to foreign governments...”

“Gref and Kudrin appeared... drawn to Putin... because of his... liberal economic policies and... ability to... get things done in St. Petersburg... when most... were paralyzed by the "alegal" political situation and the total eruption of criminal activity at all levels.”

“{{w|Andrey Piontkovskiy}}... "...Putin’s political philosophy and favorite concepts—managed democracy, administrative vertical, dictatorship of law, a 'control' shot to the back of the head, etc.—are close to this group."”

“[Putin] was... in the {{w|KGB}}'s active reserves until at least August 1991, and... initially... placed with Sobchak by the KGB... to monitor... emergence of democratic leaders... [F]oreigners who did business in Russia... universally reported... to get something done in the city, you worked through Putin, not Sobchak.”

“[R]eports allege that after Putin became president, Tsepov continued... running... the {{w|Kremlin}}’s tribute system... "administrative resources"... provided to those who paid the largest tribute... Once... accepted... payments from... public funds were disbursed for the campaign. ...[G]overnors were chosen who responded to central interests irrespective "of ...promoting the welfare of the inhabitants of the region." ...Russkiy Kur’er wrote that ...a price list for promotion to governor ...included charges of $3 million to $5 million ...”

“The bank... united elites close to Putin... [and] became a vehicle for investment... [e.g. for] 51 percent control over SOGAZ... A report on corruption... claimed... Bank Rossiya... [paid] $58 million, despite... [a] value of $2 billion.”

“Bank Rossiya was not... just a vehicle for investment by... what would become Putin's {{w|Ozero}} circle. It was... one of the many places where this circle... collaborated with, Russian organized crime. {{w|Marina Litvinovich}}... concluded ...18.6 percent of the original shares in Bank Rossiya were owned by ...[companies affiliated with] mob boss Gennady Petrov (arrested by Spanish police in 2008 as head of the Tambov-Malyshev crime group).”

“Anton Surikov... former military intelligence specialist.. "...all Russian politicians are bandits from St. Petersburg." Surikov...was dead within several months of this 2009 interview.”

“Putin operates a "{{w|protection racket}}"... that severely punishes disloyalty while allowing access to economic predation on a world-historic scale for the inner core of his elite.”

“I expected a lot more criticism when I wrote the book... I think everyone is beginning to see the kind of person Putin is. What he did in Ukraine crossed a line, and that really mobilized the media to portray him as what he really is. ...I never meant for this book to bring down Mr. Putin; its purpose is to be educational... It may... provide evidence, but I would really just like it to educate readers about Russia, about Putin's presidency, and politics.”