This means that he will be accountable to and dependent on those who raised him to power, not in a symbolic sense, but in the quite real sense of fulfilling promises and facing sanctions if he does not. This narrow circle comprises not only very rich and resourceful people, but also members of informal but very effective organizations (which are often, perhaps not entirely correctly, called “mafia”).
普京的继任者(无论是谁)将会在一个狭小的精英圈子内部交易中上台。这就意味着他将会向把他扶上权力的人负责并且依赖于他们。这并非在某个象征的意义上，而是在履行诺言并且如果不这样做就面临制裁的实际意义上。这一狭小的圈子不仅仅有非常富有而且呼风唤雨的人物，而且还有非正式、但是非常有效的组织(不一定完全正确，但是经常被成为“黑手党”)。