What is kleptocracy? This is a government led by swindlers who came into power for personal enrichment. They are indifferent to the interests of the country and the people. They have one goal - to plunder as much public funds as possible, which are made up of the taxes of all residents. As a result, the life of every citizen becomes worse.
Kleptocratic state - what is it?
The meaning of the word "kleptocracy" in ancient Greek is "the power of thieves". Such states are considered to be third world countries, where the entire economy is tied to the trade in resources. Here there is an open connection between the government and mafia structures in the presence of authoritarian methods of leadership. It is this style of government that is characteristic of juntas, dictatorships and oligarchies. Under such a rule, the connection of the leaders of the state with corrupt officials who are in family or friendly relations with them is clearly traced.
Such modes are not always durable. Therefore, the kleptocrat hassecret accounts in foreign banks, as a rule, for figureheads, where budget money is transferred. The two main characteristics of a kleptocracy are corruption and lobbying.
Corruption
Criminal activity, in which officials use position and influence for their own enrichment, is called corruption, it also includes the venality of officials and politicians. For the most part, this definition is used for the bureaucracy and the so-called political elite. Without corruption, kleptocracy is impossible. This is a crime against the state.
Signs of corruption are conflicts between elected officials and their voters or an executor (lower official) and his superior leader. First of all, a corrupt official must have the right to distribute money, to have great influence.
Lobbyism
Another important sign of kleptocracy. This is a form of influence on public authorities, deputies and members of the government, which is provided by a group of persons in order to respect their interests and make decisions that meet their needs. Lobbying is considered legal and illegal. It is legal when an individual or a public organization tries to influence the government through petitions, rallies, demonstrations. Here it is even possible to reward an official by paying expenses for his election campaign, transferring funds to his charitable foundations. Illegal lobbying istransfer of funds in circumvention of the law.
The government of any country can be accused of kleptocracy
Is there kleptocracy in Russia? From the point of view of logic and common sense, all governments in the world can be accused of kleptocracy. Name at least one person who goes into power for the sake of an idea. Such people do not get to the highest positions, even if a miracle happens, they do not live long. They do not come to power alone. A group of people always comes to leadership, united by one goal - to gain power and all the benefits that it gives.
Among them there is one bright leader, the rest are gray cardinals who are directly involved in the board. There are no random people in these groups or parties. All friends, acquaintances, relatives are here. Examples are the Kennedy brothers, the Clintons, Bush and the Bush sons, the Trump family.
Any American president comes to power primarily thanks to the support of certain circles, whose interests he will represent for exactly four years, not forgetting about himself. Everything in this world has its price. This is spoken about openly only when it is necessary to accuse a ruler who is objectionable according to some criteria.
Playing Democracy
Elections in the same America are, in fact, a game of democracy. The rich people of the country, there are not so many of them, are conditionally divided into two parties that express their interests and on an equal footing, manipulating the opinion of the people, win each other, not forgetting to throw mud at opponents. Today you ruletomorrow we. Can any third party wedge into this process? Naturally not.
The connection between legitimate lobbying and outright bribery is, to put it mildly, conditional, since the payment of the electoral company is already the recognition of this candidate as dependent on those who paid for him. Here you can see a direct collusion - you pay me for the elections, I express your interests. Scandals with the affairs of charitable foundations give the right to doubt their intended purpose, and not money laundering.
Which country has no corruption? She is everywhere. In the US, it is considered the No. 2 disaster after unemployment. The main executive body of the EU - the European Commission - has calculated that the losses of EU member states from corruption amount to 120 billion euros per year. In Russia, as in any other country, there is corruption, which takes on significant proportions.
There is a fight against this evil, although the results are small, but there are. Therefore, it is possible to give a different definition of what kleptocracy is. This is a ruling regime in which there are no legal mechanisms to fight corruption or there is no such fight at all.
Kleptocracy is a way to deal with objectionable opponents
Despite the fact that in any country there are signs of kleptocratic power: corruption, lobbying, kinship and friendship among government members, merging crime with power - Russia, the so-called Putin regime, is accused of kleptocracy. I would like to bring an old proverb. Who shouts the loudest: "Stop the thief"? That's right, the one with the stigma in the cannon.