Before the Ukraine war, Russia's economic debate at high levels was conducted between three factions—the technocrats (pushing for reform), the securocrats (primarily concerned with state power), and the kleptocrats (focused on stealing as much as possible)—and this debate continued during the war, with none of them discussing economic rationality because rationality doesn't motivate Putin or Patrushev.

factualpending

Speaker

Mark Galeotti

Evidence Quote

there is almost no discussion of economic rationality in this debate at the higher levels because the technocrats know that that does not float Putin's boat [34:08]

Source

Mark Galeotti - Russia has Defied Predictions of Analysts and Media. What are we Still Getting WrongSilicon Curtain
Created: 8/12/2026, 10:24:24 PM

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