Look, the main cause for corruption in the FSU is neither a heritage of Soviet corruption (which actually was not that big, certainly monumentally less than in the FSU), nor the presence or lack of reform. The main cause is chaos. One country, with a complex, incredibly interlinked economic and political system was dissolved overnight. Imagine what would happen if the US suddenly became 50 different countries and each state was put in the hands of some dictator. Can you imagine the opportunities for looting you would have?
In fact, the country in the FSU that has undertaken the least amount of reform is Belarus, not counting Turkmenistan, which is in a class by itself. It is also, according to the Soros Foundation, the least corrupt country in the CIS. This is because things in Belarus are stable.
Chris Doss The Russia Journal ---------- Ah. Mindo. I meant that I can't accept the complaint--corruption, kept under control by the KGB and company before 1989, has exploded everywhere in the FSU, reform or no reform...
Brad DeLong