To think that Putin is a creature of and restrained by a circle of oligarchs finds no evidence in reality; only a simplistic reading of Marxist theory, in which abstractions – the executive branch of government is no more than a committee charged with the task of managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie – crowd out real political processes, allows one to make such a claim. Actually, it’s the other way around in Putin’s Russia.
In a similar vein, the suggestion that the current goverment in Russia is center left finds no evidence in reality either. To believe so is to take flight from reality.
