Moscow
A top economic advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin quit this week, saying Putin’s policies were destroying freedom. Andrei Illarionov had already disagreed publicly with his boss over the state takeover of oil giant Yukos, which he called “the swindle of the year.” He complained that Putin was now restoring state control over other major industries that were privatized after the fall of communism. “Six years ago, when I took this position, I was planning to create conditions to increase economic freedom in Russia,” said Illarionov, a respected economist who has an American wife. “The situation has radically changed and there is no longer room to follow a policy of economic freedom.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
How generative AI is changing the way we write and speakIn The Spotlight ChatGPT and other large language model tools are quietly influencing which words we use
-
Can Nato keep Donald Trump happy?Today's Big Question Military alliance pulls out all the stops to woo US president on his peacemaker victory lap
-
Easy Money: the Charles Ponzi Story – an 'enlightening' podcastThe Week Recommends Apple Original podcast explores the 'fascinating' tale of the man who gave the investment scam its name
