As I've been pointing out for a decade, it's easier to understand Putin's Russia if you think of it as a crime syndicate, a Mafia, instead of a typical political system. Putin is the godfather, and his ever-shrinking inner circle is the only family he can trust. In return for the freedom to enjoy their looted riches in the West, they serve as Putin's operatives among the wealthy and powerful of the free world. Their social and financial access becomes increasingly useful as Putin's foreign aggression and domestic crackdowns turn him into a geopolitical pariah.