MOSCOW : Capitalist Conspiracy
For more than seven decades, calling someone a capitalist was an insult in Russia. But starting Thursday, Russia plans to inaugurate a program in which every Russian will be given the chance to be a capitalist.
President Boris N. Yeltsin, in a bold attempt to win back his waning popularity, has promised to “return to the people what was stolen by the state.” He decreed that on Oct. 1, each of Russia’s 148 million citizens will receive a voucher equivalent to 10,000 rubles--$40 at the current exchange rate--to buy shares in a state-owned enterprise.
But the program appears destined for complications. Moscow authorities already have said they will not be ready to issue the vouchers by the deadline.
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