This kind of thing goes on all the time, all over the world, to varying degrees. It's definitely something I'd read about in The Economist, but it's not at all "intellectually gratifying", and is off topic as a political current event for this site.

It's about as intellectually gratifying as the latest world cup results, but maybe not as much as Andrew Talansky's recent victory at the Critérium du Dauphiné, which was accomplished with daring tactics and great racing.