In a protracted breakfast interview with Insight and a small group of other foreign journalists, Berezovsky dismissed Putin s threats against the so-called oligarchs as just electioneering. He can t fight big capitalists, said the tycoon. His affability during the encounter with journalists from U.S. publications that have been highly critical of him spoke volumes. According to Izvestia, Putin would not be able to turn the clock back to the Soviet era even if he wanted to. He will fail to turn Russia into a totalitarian country again.
Totalitarianism calls for a national, total support.
Indeed, too much has happened in Russia during the last nine years for Putin to dismantle some of the freedoms established in the country, even if he wanted to. And there also are too many special interests to be satisfied for Russia s new leader to enjoy ultimate control. Above all, the endemic chaos and disorder of Russia will hedge him in. You may press some button in the Kremlin expecting that the lights will go on somewhere else and you will find out that the lamps have already been stolen or that the wires are not there. After his election, foreign leaders lined up to pay their respects by phone and to congratulate Putin on his victory from a distance.