The party of crooks and thieves is putting forward its chief crook and thief for the presidency. We must vote against him.
— Alexei Navalny
When thievery is baked into a nation, as it is in Russia, we call it a kleptocracy.
Kleptocracy, meaning "rule by a class of thieves," is a 19th-century word derived from the Greek words kleptes, meaning "thief," and kratia, meaning "rule."
Corruption in itself is bad enough; but far worse is the predatory and psychotic nature of kleptocrats.
Kleptocrats rule by bullying and by silencing their critics.
And when their rule is threatened, kleptocrats go on a murderous rampage.
That explains Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
It also explains Trump's attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
It will take decades for future historians and forensic accountants to quantify Trump's take during his four years in the White House, but it was well over $2 billion.
Of course, compared to Putin, Trump's a piker.
Putin has taken 100 times that amount.
It's hard to put yourself in the shoes of a self-dealing psychotic willing to murder to protect his kleptocracy; harder still to hear your fellow citizens say they'll vote to return a self-dealing psychotic to the White House.
Stay tuned.
We live in wondrous times.
