Red Notice

For the first time in a while I have voluntarily picked up a book to read. Since opening the book on Monday morning I have been enthralled, struggling to put it down. This book is about Bill Browder’s fight against corruption in Russia. He became an activist investor in the late 1990’s, with this having been accepted by Putin and leaders before him while their interests align, but when that changed, and Bill’s activism started to harm the interests of the president the levers of the state we used against him.

Throughout the course it has been a common theme that many of those in non-democratic regimes will have at some point committed a crime which the leader can care about when they are disloyal. However, in the criminal actions brought against Bill and his associated for tax fraud this was not the case. The book quotes the investigator charged with prosecuting Mr Browder for the tax offences. When Bill’s lawyers were talking to the investigator, they were show the audits from the tax authorities which showed all tax had been paid correctly the investigator responded with “Listen, I didn’t want to have anything to do with this. They forced me back from vacation to meet with a high-level delegation from Moscow.” When questioned about the delegation they learned that the instructions had come “… right from the top…”. 

While we have talked a lot about an integrated elite being selectively charged with an offence, they have in all reality committed. We have not often looked at what happens to someone who is not as integrated into that group and refuses to commit the criminal acts the elite commonly do, rather than fabricating evidence the regime just charges them with the crime, the judges will agree with the investigator, even though the evidence in the case file shows them nothing is wrong. 

While it may be convenient to have a complicit elite whose crimes can be pulled out of a hat not every prominent member will be that way, particularly foreign investors. But this reality does not deter dictators, they can simply ignore the truth and charge them for various criminal offences and a loyal judge will find them guilty, despite overwhelming evidence. 

Our lecture earlier this week about Chinese and Soviet attitudes to censorship made me realise that  our dear leader favours the Sino approach to censorship. While the soviets published a list of what was censored, our leader, like the Chinese our glorious leader (rightfully so) employes a method of psychological control. I believe that our leader in all this greatness has adopted a brilliant approach, if you are in need of the mechanical method with a list of illegal phrases then you are already in breach of the spirit of the revolution and should be treated accordingly. 

Long live the First Lord Of The Academia, Disseminator Of All Information That Is Accurate And Truthful, With Excellent Knowledge In All Things, Xavier Marquez and glory to the revolution. 

The book I have quoted from and referred to above is Red Notice by Bill Browder, the quote can be found on page 285.