FINANCIAL SPECIALIST: "THE RUSSIAN STATE IS PROMOTINGTHE CRIMINALIZATION OF THE ECONOMY."

With these words,Andrei Nechayev, the president of the Russian State Finance Corporation,characterized the current situation in Russia to Ostankino televisionAugust 20. Nechayev said the state was doing so in three ways:by its own efforts to grab wealth, by its unwillingness to standas an arbiter among various groups competing for economic goods,and by the "highest levels" of corruption of the stateapparatus itself.

Russian Small Businesses Growing Rapidly.