Corrupt, thieving government, in which the politicians and bureaucrats in charge use the powers of the state to feather their own nests. Russia in the years immediately after the fall of communism was a clear-cut example, with Mafia-friendly government members allocating themselves valuable shares during the privatization of state-owned companies, accepting bribes from foreign businesses, not collecting taxes from “helpful” companies and siphoning off international aid into their personal offshore bank accounts.