Jeffrey R. Nyquist reads Sergei Tretyakov’s book and gets some good quotes from Andrei Illarionov about the disturbing new pattern created by authoritarian capitalism:

Yet there is a rule, if you can call it a rule: The Kremlin regularly seizes control of companies that are making the most money simply because they are cash cows – ready to be milked. “The criteria,” said Illarionov, “is to take companies that can generate cash.” He further explained: If society develops from nomadic banditry to stationary banditry to a civilized state, then Russia is going backwards. … “In Russia,” said Illarionov, “we see an enormous destruction of civil society, but sometimes we see very impressive economic growth. We see one of the fastest growing economies in the world.” According to the best theories of political and economic science this shouldn’t be happening. “So we have to ask if some new law, new pattern, is observable in Russia.”