Well, other former communist states did better, such as Poland, Romania, the Baltics, Hungary.
The problem was really that the prize was too big. Russia had the oil production. That made it worthwhile doing whatever was necessary to steal control of the money flowing from it.
(Perhaps a more salient question is how and whether the US can be prevented from turning into a mafia state; will the ongoing prosecution roll up the network, or will the network roll up the prosecution?)
The problem was really that the prize was too big. Russia had the oil production. That made it worthwhile doing whatever was necessary to steal control of the money flowing from it.
(Perhaps a more salient question is how and whether the US can be prevented from turning into a mafia state; will the ongoing prosecution roll up the network, or will the network roll up the prosecution?)