God this article is annoying, e.g.:
46. In a real sense this stratum is still in power today. Gorbachev, Yeltsin, Putin, and the rest of the leaders of Russia and of the post-Soviet states are all former members of the Party leadership. They long milked the Soviet Union's citizens as super-privileged functionaries.
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Putin was a KGB clerk/functionary for God's sake. He was not a "super-privileged functionary." He probably earned less than I do. I also read an annoying piece on "Russia's Transition" recently that asserted that "Yeltsin privatized everything in sight," when, in the real world, Yeltsin privatized very little. Almost half of Russia's economy is state-owned. HELLO?!?!?!?!? Over half the population of St. Petersburg gets state benefits. Does no one read actual economic reports en lieu of extruding things ideologically from their asses?
Nu, zayats, pogodi!
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