For one SU did not have oligarchs. where did the Oligarchs come from? the first wave of oligarchs came from the Russian political elite, basically claiming what was "theirs" during the communist government, now sure, most subsequent Oligarchs came about because Yeltsin and later Putin wanted to strengthen their own supporter base among the oligarchs, but all we are seeing here is what used to happen totally inside the government (because the government was the primary economic power) is now happening in a hybrid approach of government+"market".