One clear example is the 2010 release of US diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks. These cables included blunt US assessments describing Russia as a “virtual mafia state” with rampant corruption, where the government, organized crime, oligarchs, and security forces were deeply intertwined. They alleged high-level protection rackets, bribery, and that Vladimir Putin had amassed illicit wealth (with some claims he knew about operations like the Litvinenko poisoning in London)