Letters to the Editor

To the Editors:

Eric Helque’s piece, “The Oligarchs and the President” (March/April 2004) was generally an informative, lucid overview of the enormous impact these men have had on the Russian government and economy, especially during the presidency of Boris Yeltsin…

Nevertheless, in noting the bitter resentment, indeed hatred, many Russians harbor toward the Oligarchs, Helque never mentions one vitally salient fact: six of the seven men who comprise the so-called Oligarchs are Jewish. Only Vladimir Potanin is not, which may explain why President Putin has thus far left him alone. Within the context of Russian history, the inveterate and pervasive role of anti-Semitism cannot be overlooked; it has played an instrumental part in the life of the country, both officially and unofficially, since at least the reign of Catherine the Great...