oligarchy

oligarchy, government by the few, especially despotic power exercised by a small and privileged group for corrupt or selfish purposes. Oligarchies in which members of the ruling group are wealthy or exercise their power through their wealth are known as plutocracies. Read about the rise of the Russian oligarchy in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Aristotle used the term oligarchia to designate the rule of the few when it was exercised...