The Post-Partisan Emporium

  A Storied Russian Muckraker On Oil, Iran, Ukraine, and More Known for fearless journalism in the Yeltsin years, Leonid Krutakov resurfaces with an epic history of the oil business, at a time when war over energy has never been more relevant. Matt Taibbi Russian oil in the Phillipines this week In Moscow in July 1997, reporter Leonid Krutakov had a scoop. Anatoly Chubais, the Harvard-educated privatization boss and right hand of Boris Yeltsin, had been given a $3 million loan from Stolichny Bank just before that same bank — controlled by an intimidating “businessman” named Alexander Smolensky — won an auction for a state-owned agricultural property, Agroprombank. It was a great story, but Krutakov had to make an epic journey to print it. First fired from Chubais-friendly  Komsomolskaya Pravda,  he was rejected by  Moskovsky Komsomolets,  then appealed to the legendary editor of  Top Secret , Artem Borovik, before that magazine, too, turned him down. Finall...

 All wars are bankers' wars... Kushner and Witkoff esc Three wars, two men — one pattern. In December 2025, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin for approximately five hours, presenting documents outlining a phased settlement plan for Ukraine 1 . Later that month, Witkoff convened representatives from the US, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey in Miami to advance Phase 2 of the Gaza ceasefire 2 . On March 23, 2026, Trump claimed Kushner and Witkoff had conducted talks with senior Iranian officials regarding the terms under which Iran’s energy infrastructure might be spared 3 . Tehran denies the meeting took place, with Ghalibaf himself calling it ‘ fake news ’ designed to manipulate oil and financial markets 4 . By March 25, the White House was working to arrange a meeting in Islamabad, with Pakistan having transmitted a 15-point US ceasefire proposal to Tehran and the IAEA chief confirming he expected talks that weekend 5 . Three wars. Two men operating outside ...