The house arrest on Sept. 16 of Vladimir Evtushenkov, one of Russia's richest men with an estimated $7 billion fortune, is part of an attempt to nationalize his oil business.
It also shows how the Western strategy of isolating Russia in response to its external aggression is perversely benefiting President Vladimir Putin's close circle of friends: They feel they can grab anything within Russia without regard for their reputations.
When the Western world accepts an authoritarian regime and fawns over its achievements, as it does with China, success stories look like that of Alibaba's Jack Ma. Never mind that his company's gigantic initial public offering is only possible because Chinese authorities have helped Ma grow his business and could ruin it anytime, as my colleague William Pesek rightly points out, everyone still wants a piece of the action.