Anonymous oligarchs’ society

By Ilya BLOGGER

Commitment to oligarchy is an aspiration for dominance, closely connected with greed

Theophrastos

Last year, more than ever, the one had to met a sustainable opinion all the time, that allegedly the stratification of the society (and it concerns all former Soviet space) by material attribute became simply blatant. Speaking simply, there are more and more poor people, and truly rich people lost hardly anything and even took a profit for themselves out of the crisis… At that, super-rich people usually solvent not by themselves, but in connection with power authorities. But how many oligarchs in our fifteen-million Kazakhstan, even CNS don’t know exactly. Also there is an opinion that oligarchs are simple people, but with increased greed coefficient. However, such feature as anonymity is typical for Kazakhstani oligarchs. The country has absolutely no ideas who are its heroes are, excluding those who were situated in visible part of nouveau riche iceberg, such as Timur Kulibayev and Bulat Utemuradov. But even judging by them we know only light (spotted, to be precise) part of their assets.

Obstinate adherence of Kazakhstani oligarchs to anonymity creates paradoxical situations in the real life. For instance, a question on petrol prices growth was raised, but there are now comments from the real petrol kings in press for the reason that they think about present moment. The same situation is with sugar, trade, grain, construction and etc. kings.

For the reason that the country doesn’t know certain main owners of the economy by sight, thus nobody to ask when one or another havoc would end. The questions are addressed in common order to some anonymous oligarchs society. This club is giving its answers also anonymously in form of increase or decrease in prices.

Despite the anonymity, the mass of oligarchs is hardly similar. There are also its elder and younger, from the most poor to the most rich inclusively. Some of oligarchs are allowed to parasite on state budget, the others are not. Some are allowed to oil pipelines as one of the most desirable pieces of Kazakhstani business, the others were rejected with this. Some are allowed to have their own banks, the others are not. Some are working in monopoly environment; the others are allowed to live in oligopoly only.

Local oligarchs have no hard rankings, as it were in Medieval Europe – dukes, counts, marquises, barons and knights; but multiple options are impossible. Today the one is not famous although he is rich and has dependable “cover”. But tomorrow, as it is in case of Rakhat Aliev, you patron is in dishonor and then in exile. The one has been signed into the list of unreliable for once, his business is immediately attacked by rivals, partly overtaken, and the status is sharply reformed to lower. The one is still having a black caviar and Louis XIV cognac on a dining table and can afford to take a vacation on Maldives or Courchevel, but in “close” family of oligarchs he is on simple men’s rights.

The controversial situation is also possible. The onу was second-rate oligarchic baron, and suddenly his patron was placed as the head of the government. And he holding the post of prime-minister’s cabinet not just for a year or two. For this time a baron can grow into a marquis or a count, with all things following. The increase in status follows by increase of property under control. A client database is becoming larger, for which he acts in quality of patron. And very rich are appearing among those clients, who are hardly have less resources than their patron. His life allegedly is successful, but still the system is built on shaky and unsteady foundations, and under such consequence the one can’t afford to be weak.

For the team of anonymous oligarch a “golden hour” comes occasionally. The reason of it is that a smile of Fortune sometimes changing to laugh. And in such case a beautiful times come to first and second circles of the team of anonymous oligarch. In connection with established oligarchic anonymity, a property and assets are finalized on assumed names. In a “golden hour” nominal owners become into real owners and starting to realize their estimates about dolce vita. Some of them are given with calif for an hour fate, and some are successfully keeping given assets.

A “golden hour” of oligarch’s team is not giving the opportunity for even most anonymous oligarch to successfully sustain a dishonor or effectively stand against it. A property is ruining and redistributed by former subordinates with a speed of melting snow on full blaze of the sun. After that, there is even not enough money for full-scale informational resistance, despite any serious private security structure or hiring a team of killers.

Destiny of oligarch can have a zigzag nature. Today the one is being hunted, and tomorrow he is forgiven. After forgiveness, there is a stage of recollecting of which were lost in “golden hour” for his team. Some are understand situation change quickly, but “greedy” ones can be recognized as a wild boar during hunting and be short from three barrels in the same time.

Generally, the details of living of anonymous oligarchs are known in little bits even in relatively informed circles. But these bits are fatally leaking out into the public despite even recent enactment on stiffening of the responsibility of interruption into personal freedom of major people. The reason of such leaks is lying in scales of a person of oligarch. These people, making a romance for instance, can’t buy tickets for backseats in a cinema and have give themselves up to love pleasures, as normal people do. They take a car with guards and going to estate for their chosen, who is too has guards and servants. But when such circle of people are involved, you can’t go without information leak

We can only guess about real incomes of anonymous oligarchs. In one time the public was disturbed by the fact that one of president’s sons-in-law had income from his property for quarter of billion dollars back in 2005. There is and there was no way to confirm this figure in competent sources, and at that the only opportunity is to believe or not to.

Even being a non-anonymous oligarch, a man is still staying as a mystery in Kazakhstan. For instance, is he a real owner of a property, which is signed for him, or is he only a hired manager with representative functions and a share of income about 20% from whole profit? Taking in account that anonymity for oligarchs is a normal life, the public opinion is inclined to the second option. However, even being a nominal owner is very profitable. Despite the official income it is normal to steal sometimes, to put one’s friends, familiars and relatives on good posts. That is the reason why such interesting positions have large tails, and in anonymous oligarch society there are non-stopping anonymous and half-anonymous wars.

Nobody is able to tell when oligarchs will be unveiled. The system is already established. All official attempts to name main owners of the economy were unsuccessful. And the society is not considering all these conditions as legal. That’s why the anonymity together with continuous redistributions of property on present historical patch is unavoidable.