The Telegraph: Russia's Elite Live In Fear And Paranoia

The rules have changed.

Russia continues a string of high-profile arrests, convictions and mysterious deaths that paralyze even the highest levels of government. The latest case - the suicide of former Transportation Minister Roman Starovoit - has stunned the country's political elite, writes The Telegraph.

"It looks terrible," said a former Russian presidential administration official who wished to remain anonymous. "Arrests, deaths, scandals ... People screwed themselves up."

On July 7, Starovoit, the 53-year-old former governor of Kursk Region, committed suicide while under investigation for large-scale embezzlement. His former deputy, Alexei Smirnov, had allegedly already testified against him.

A vacuum of fear has formed at the highest levels. "What is really strange is that the president (Russian ruler Vladimir Putin - ed.) has not expressed any sympathy," the same official remarked. "Even the prime minister is silent. This is a sign."

While courts are handing down sentences of decades in prison even to former deputy defense ministers, falling out of windows is becoming a new political metaphor. Transneft vice president Andrey Badalov did not survive a fall from a balcony, and billionaire Konstantin Strukov's private jet was forcibly returned while trying to leave the country.

"The rules have changed," says Alexandra Prokopenko, an expert at the Carnegie Center and former adviser to the Central Bank of Russia. "Now it doesn't matter who supports you. It's not the strongest who survive, but the most cautious."

A paranoid mood is growing in the Kremlin. One current official admits:

"I try to stay away from dangerous topics ... We are all locked in our own little worlds."

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