Into the “social death” of the Russian oligarchy

<p>The Western sanctions on Russia&#8217;s wealthy elite have raised a variety of questions that range from who these people are to the effectiveness of the sanctions. We spoke to Dartmouth sociologist Brooke Harrington, who argues in a new piece for The Atlantic that the sanctions represent an existential threat for Russia’s elite — and, by proxy, the Kremlin itself. Consumer sentiment has dropped to lows not seen since the 70s and 80s, yet spending remains strong. What gives? The dating app Tinder has added a background check feature that allows users to see if a possible date has a criminal past.</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Keep independent journalism going strong. <a href="https://support.marketplace.org/mkp-mmr-sn"><span class="s2"><i>Give today to support Marketplace Morning Report.</i></span></a> </span></p>