Render unto Caesar: Putin and the oligarchs

In 1991, a small group of Russians emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union to claim ownership, of some of the world's most valuable oil, natural gas, and metal deposits. This resulted in one of the greatest transfers of wealth ever seen. By 1997, five of these individuals, who in the 1980s had only negligible net worth, were listed by Forbes as among the world's richest billionaires. This year seventeen of these men were on the Forbes list, including two who merged their companies to create what promises to be an oil conglomerate worth $35 billion. Almost all of these self-styled oligarchs have been accused of guile, intimidation, and even murder in reaping their rewards. Not surprisingly, their rise-and for some, their fall-mirrors the travails of the Russian economy.