I joined the city government, and we start to operate as the bureaucrats on the local level, so we were the only ones in the whole Russian team who were experienced in practical bureaucratic management in the complicated condition of 1990.

It was almost forbidden in the Soviet Union to study the New Economic Policy.

The Bolsheviks started not just on the killing of private property; they were trying to abolish money itself.

If I just produce the transparent ideal accepted by the Western experts, a process of privatization which will be very good but never happen, that means nothing.

The red directors were one of the main political forces. Another force was the former Soviet ministers who lost everything because of the transformation of the Soviet Union to Russia.

During the election in 1989, there was the first Soviet election with alternative candidates to local government. I myself arranged special training for them.

You're not always able to choose.