Man undrar ibland om auktoritära ledares längtan efter makt över samhället står i proportion till storleken på statsmakten. Putin (och Medvedev?) vet i alla fall hur man nyanställer i offentlig sektor:
Over the past ten years the number of bureaucrats has gone up by 66%, from 527,000 to 878,000, and the cost of maintaining such a state machine has risen from 15% to 20% of GDP. At the same time, Russia’s standing in indices of corruption, property rights and business freedom has deteriorated. When its leaders talk up the state as the solution to all problems, the government’s failure to satisfy people’s basic needs, such as security and policing, becomes all the more striking.