I guess, I had to give this hopefully objective view on what's
happening in Russia now, since not everyone who has his $$$ tied in
some kind of Russian fund knows this. The same picture roughly in
other Eastern European countries. In Hungary, I believe, the replacement of the crooks by more honest businessmen already has
happened. Various facts about the dishonest behavior
of top officials are widely known in Russia and published in daily
press. And these officials still keep their posts. So, I guess,
this helps to understand why Russians dislike Chubais and would
not pay taxes. Businesses have to pay huge tips to real crooks who
protect them from others with guns - and from the government.
As to the Western news - sometimes they focus on
undervaluation and progress of the society, sometimes on corruption,
possibility of currency collapse, political instability etc.
The fact is, all these things are present. The long-term direction, however, I believe, is up, and pretty quickly.
-Vi |
