In a review for Le Monde, the French economist Tom Picetti, a professor at the Higher School of Social Sciences and the Paris School of Economics, explains that the Soviet collapse led to a departure from any prospects for redistribution in the country.

Next month, Karl Marx will turn 200 years old. What would he think of the sad state of Russia, a country that constantly regarded itself as a supporter of "Marxism-Leninism" throughout the Soviet period? - thinks the author.

Since 2001, the income tax in Russia is 13%, whether your income is at least 1 thousand. rubles, at least 1 billion rubles, said the expert.

Even Reagan and Trump did not go so far in destroying the progressive tax. In Russia, as in the People's Republic of China, there is no inheritance tax, he continues..

But while China managed to maintain some control over the drain of capital and private savings, Putin's Russia is characterized by an unlimited deviation towards kleptocracy. Between 1992 and 2018 it reached a gigantic positive trade balance: about 10% of GDP on average for the year for 25 years, that is, in general about 250% of GDP (2.5 years of national production). In principle, this could allow it to carry out the accumulation of financial reserves of the same order: by the way, this is approximately the amount of state investment funds accumulated by Norway, under the supervision of voters. However, Russian official reserves are twice lower: they barely reach 25% of GDP, comments Piketti.

"Where did the money go? According to our estimates, only offshore assets owned by wealthy Russians exceed annual GDP, that is, the equivalent of all official financial assets owned by Russian households. In other words, the natural wealth of the country (in passing we would like to note that it would be better if they remained in the land, in order to avoid climate change) were massively exported to provide opaque structures that would allow the minority to own huge financial assets in Russia and abroad, "writes the economist.

"These rich Russians live between London, Monaco and Moscow, some never left Russia and own their country with the help of offshore organizations, many middlemen and Western companies also casually fell a lot of grains, all this continues today in such areas as sports and the media ( sometimes it is called philanthropy). The scope of appropriation is unprecedented in history, "notes Picketti.

"Instead of applying trade sanctions, Europe would be better at last tackling the fight against these assets and appealing to Russian public opinion. Post-communism today has become the worst ally of hypercapitalism: Marx would appreciate this irony, but this is not the reason to adjust to it, "sums up the author.