Workers' Paradise Is Rebranded as Kremlin Inc. - New York Times

Workers' Paradise Is Rebranded as Kremlin Inc. - New York Times: "Mr. Putin's efforts initially appeared limited to imposing state control over the country's natural resources.

In recent months, however, the Kremlin has orchestrated the consolidation of several struggling state and private aircraft manufacturers into a newly created Unified Aircraft Corporation under the supervision of Mr. Putin's appointed prime minister. The Kremlin has appointed its own directors from the country's military export arm to oversee the largest automaker, Avtovaz. [The government disclosed April 21 that it was considering consolidating various airlines under the state-controlled Aeroflot.]

'Instead of properly regulating the economy, the state owns the economy,' said Aleksandr Y. Lebedev, a billionaire whose own investments, he said, are now under pressure from the state.

These large companies are continuing to absorb smaller ones, accumulating even greater wealth and power. The state oil company Rosneft, for example, acquired the main subsidiary of Yukos in December 2004 after a prosecutorial assault against its former chairman, Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, now serving an eight-year sentence in a Siberian jail on charges of fraud and tax evasion that many say were politically motivated."