An oligarchy is a form of government in which an elite few have total control over an organization, institution, or country. These groups of people may be prominent by royalty, wealth, education, or military control. Oligarchic governments are usually dominated by families who pass their power from one generation to the next, however, they do not have to be related by bloodlines to be able to inherit the oligarch. The decision of whom the power resides in is not influenced by the people, but solely within the small group of people who hold the power. The former Soviet Union is the most well-known instance of an oligarchic government. Examples of countries being led by oligarchy today are North Korea, China, and Russia as well as the United
