>As I've said before, everybody in Russia, including me, is corrupt to some
>extent, if by corruption you mean engaging in extra-legal activities like
>paying bribes. Back when I had problems with my housing registration, I
>would give little sums of money to cops all the time. It's just less of a
>hassle than paying a fine. It's called "doing things po-chelovechestvu" --
>"in the human way."
Nation editor Katrina vanden Heuvel, who doubles as a Russia expert, tells me that she doubts the story of a Russian economic expansion - independent, that is, of the periods of strength in the oil market. She said that just the other week, Putin was meeting with a bunch of industrial policy types, trying to figure out how to get some serious development going - suggesting that he deosn't believe in the expansion much either. Any thoughts?
Doug