Evaluating Social Programs at the State and Local Level: The Jtpa Evaluation Design Project

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In 1991, a small group of Russians emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union claiming ownership some of the most valuable petroleum, natural gas and metal deposits in the world. By 1997, five of those individuals were on Forbes Magazine's list of the world's richest billionaires. These self-styled oligarchs were accused of using guile, intimidation, and occasionally violence to reap these rewards. This revelatory work examines the structure of the Russian economy and considers why it collapsed in 1998 and why it began its recovery in 1999. It also provides a close examination of the Russian oil industry and the oligarchs who control it and who have now decided to go "legitimate".

Customer Reviews:

Study of the theft of a whole country.......2004-11-22

The author gives us a good picture of the club of greedy criminals who have hijacked an entire country and wrecked it.

Their real money-spinner was grabbing pieces of Russia's immensely rich natural resources under the Loans for Shares [...]. For a fraction of their market value, the capitalists offered to look after the shares that the government put up as collateral for the loans, `managing' the state's stake in the energy companies in exchange for loans to the deficit-ridden state. This allowed them to claim that the nation's assets were not being sold off. In these corrupt insider deals, the Yeltsin government let the new capitalists take the companies from their directors, buying Yeltsin their support against the communists. The government could not repay the loans. The capitalists then sold the shares to themselves very cheaply, as repayment for the loans, through offshore companies.

The government used companies' book values as fixed in January 1992, before the great inflation, as the basis for the voucher auctions. Yeltsin's Deputy Prime Minister, Yegor Gaidar, freed prices in January 1992, causing 2500% inflation, wiping out workers' life savings, 70 million accounts in the state-owned Sberbank alone.

In November-December 1995, the government auctioned 12 of Russia's biggest companies. A tiny handful of banks ran the auctions, disqualified their rivals, excluded foreigners, bid in the auctions and won the bids. The capitalists admitted that they paid 40 times less than the enterprises were worth. In a closed auction run by his own bank, Uneksimbank, Vladimir Potanin (the deputy prime minister in charge of finance) bought, for just $170.1 million, Norilsk Nickel, the world's biggest producer of nickel and platinum, whose profits that year were $1.2 billion. The bank disqualified a rival bid of $350 million on a technicality. Potanin also bought oil companies at non-competitive prices and then sold the products at below market prices to trading companies he owned. He sold Gazprom, the natural gas monopoly, for $228 million, a thousandth of its value. Potanin sold 51% of the Sidanco oil company, for which he loaned the government $130 million. Then he bought the company for $130 million in the auction: in 1997, BP paid $571 million for just a 10% stake. Not surprisingly, Potanin's bank was the biggest winner from the Loans for Shares [...].

Capitalists created parasitic subsidiaries, whose profits they divided amongst themselves, not with the shareholders. They exploited arbitrage opportunities between low Russian prices and high world market prices, particularly in gas, oil, gold, platinum and other precious metals. They profited from the Central Bank's negative real interest rates, and speculated in currencies, mainly against the rouble. The capitalists' government took barely any taxes: in 1995-96, Gazprom paid $3.5 million tax on $2 billion earnings.

Anatoly Chubais, head of the State Privatization Committee, said of Russia's capitalists, "They steal and steal and steal. They are stealing absolutely everything and it is impossible to stop them." By 1999, 38% of Russia's people existed below the poverty line. 90% of the people endured worsening conditions, while the handful of arrogant capitalists made colossal profits by theft and corruption. If you want a picture of 'free enterprise' in action, here it is!

How The Russian Mafia Destroyed Russia.......2004-04-04

ÿI first became acquainted with this work through an NPR interview. The author, Marshall Goldman, was suddenly asked by the reviewer what he thought about top Mafia thug Mikhail Khodorkovsky giving a million dollars to the Library of Congress (as a means of legitimizing himself). Naturally, as I work at the Library of Congress, I perked up, paid attention, and then bought the book. Wow.

Khodorkovsky (currently in jail) started out as a good little communist, belonging to the Komsomol, and going to college. Johnny on the spot, he parlayed a small bank charter for
Menatep to become Russia's richest man. Unfortunately, Menatep was involved in the Bank of New York money laundering scheme, bilking the US out of billions. In 1994, the Federal Reserve ordered the CIA to investigate Russian banks, a study which concluded most Russian banks are Mafia controlled. Although the study is still classified, Menatep was the only bank publicly noted for being Mafia controlled (page148). Knodorkovsky started Yukos Oil, which was a swindle. Using this money, Khodorkovsky, with Henry Kissinger as a member of his board, gave one million dollars to the Library of Congress to start the Open Russia Foundation (page 149).

Another Library of Congress rent-a-thug was Vladimir Gusinsky. Gusinsky predated Khodorkovsky--probably because he's currently on the lam--and had helped fund the Librarian of Congress' Russia documentary film. Gusinsky had actually attended the University of Virginia to study financial management. He named his business empire MOST (a play on the word bridge)after the sign on ATM machines. Goldman also provides us with the "how" of how these two Mafia "oligarchs" could seem presentable given their backgrounds. Somebody got them the services of APCO, which is an offshoot of Arnold and Porter, a top DC law firm full of congressmen and other movers and shakers (page 129). The rest is history, as they say.

I also just have to mention one of the Russian jokes that Goldman repeats. Due to broad government theft this one circulated: A man parked under Yeltsin's office and walked away. A guard rushed up and said "You can't park under Yeltsin's office." "It's okay, the man replied, "I locked the car."

Goldman gives us the backgrounds and histories of all the top "oligarchs" and an explanation any layman can understand regarding just how Russia became so corrupted. This book, then, is not just for Library of Congress employees looking to see who the latest donors to our institution are.

Our Librarian of Congress, James Billington, is a former Sovietologist and "Russian scholar," so I suppose he knows what he is doing. Here is what Goldman thinks, though, "The more involved Russian businessmen become with the West, the more likely it is that they will come to adopt Western business practices, presumably good ones. But there is no guarantee. Given how deeply ingrained some of the less desirable practices are among Russian administrators (past and present) it is only to be expected that some of the more nefarious behaviour we have encountered inside Russia will also surface outside (page 118)."

An Absolute Must Read.......2004-03-31

I was first drawn to this book after hearing the author interviewed. He was talking about his book when he was interrupted and the interviewer asked Marshall Goldman about Russian Mafia PR campaign on US government officials.(...)In the book there is a brief mention of this fact on page 149, "To show how public-spirited YUKOS [the Mafia-run oil giant] had become, it donated $1 million to the U.S. Library of Congress and set up an Open Russia Foundation with, among others, Henry Kissinger as a member of the board of trustees." It was James Billington, the current Librarian of Congress and former "Sovietologist" professor who brought them all together. Wow.

This book is not just about the Mafia figure, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who ownes YUKOS. What sets Goldman's book apart from others I have read, such as "Comrade Criminal," is the description of what went wrong in Russia when the Soviet Union fell. Dr. Goldman paints a rather bleak picture. Goldman explains the how and why of the vouchers scam and how out of Russia, a certain overnight class of incredibly rich "oligarchs" came on the scene. Goldman shows how these billionaires never developed an economy, at one point contrasting how in Poland the problems that occured in Russia never arose.

If you want to lose sleep you need to read this book as the inroads of Russian Mafia-controlled in America should cause real alarm. As cited on page 118, "The Russian were supposed to adopt out ways, not bring their ways to the United States." Congress is well aware of all this, as on page 128 Goldman relates how the CIA reported that half of Russia's banks were Mafia controlled. The only bank to be so named publicly is MENATEP (page 148). The man the Librarian of Congress brought to the Library of Congress was not just the founder of MENATEP, but also involved in the Bank of New York money laundering.

The two chapters on the oligarchs (pages 98-156)make for heavy reading, especially since two of the oligarchs are (now were) directly involved with the Library of Congress, Vladimir Gussinsky (who fled Russia) and Khodorkovsky (arrested in his jet and currently in jail in Russia). Goldman really gives you the average Russian viewpoint of these oligarchs and the Putin reactions. That the oligarchs are intertwined with the KGB and the fact that the Russian government is predominated by KGB types is described by Goldman. His repeating of jokes really gives the feel, like the one about the subway rider who asks the man standing on his foot if he is from Petersburg (Mafia central) or the KGB. When the man says neither, he is then asked "then why are you standing on my foot?" The other great joke describes the outright theft of the country through the story of the man who parks his car under the window of Yeltsin's office. You can't park under Yeltsin's office the guard says, which the man responds "It's okay, I locked my car."

It is all this together than makes this book a classic.(...)

Best book on the topic.......2003-07-19

I have read many books on the transfer of the USSR state economy to private hands and this is, by far, the best and clearest on the topic. If one has to read just one account, this is it.

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Independent Review, published by Thomson Gale on January 1, 2006. The length of the article is 2635 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Privatization and piratization in post-communist Russia.(Critical essay)
Author: Yuri Maltsev
Publication: Independent Review (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 10 Issue: 3 Page: 425(6)

Article Type: Critical essay

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

Double taxation conventions (DTCs) raise a plethora of interpretational questions for the practitioner and student of tax law. This book provides the answers. An encyclopedic treatise on DTCs, Klaus Vogel on Double Taxation Conventions is a guide to all legal issues DTCs raise and includes information on worldwide case law and commentators' views. The OECD Model Convention serves as the organisational basis for this work. Each chapter focuses on one article of the Convention and provides: + the wording of the article and that of the respective articles of the UN and US Models, + the official Commentary by OECD, and + an extensive discussion by the authors of the legal problems involved. In addition, Klaus Vogel on Double Taxation Conventions offers an account of all German tax treaties, how they differ from the model provisions, and the potential practical impact of such differences. The first two editions have been used by lawyers, tax advisers, and scholars all over the world. Courts in Canada, Germany, South Africa, and the Netherlands have cited them as authority. This revised edition includes the most recent OECD Model revisions and all recent case law and relevant literature. The authors have rethought many of the problems discussed, further improved their argument, and amended their views where they have been convinced by opponents. As a result, this third edition of Klaus Vogel on Double Taxation Conventions is a significantly enhanced version of one of the more seminal works in the tax law cannon and an important component in the libraries of practitioners and academics.

Customer Reviews:

The definitive reference!.......2006-02-10

This is, of course, the definitive reference on DTCs. I have had my own personal copy for some time now and call it my 'blue book'. (No mystery there, that is the colour of the dust jacket! :). As the previous reviewer wrote, it has been with me for quite some time & I hope it (or a newer edition) will remain with me for a long time to come.

This is one work which should be within an arm's length (!) of a lot of us who are involved in DTCs, but it is a sad fact that there are many offices of many firms that do not have a single copy of this book (or, for that matter, any equivalent commentary)...

Very highly recommended! I turn to it again and again, just to see whether the 'blue book' can cast any light on the new questions which an issue raises or the new twists in an otherwise familiar problem.

It is beginning to show its age somewhat. The latest English edition was published almost 10 years ago (in 1997). There have been some changes in the commentary since then, and it would be nice to have a new edition which casts some light on, for example, the notorious example of the painter! But until that new edition comes (and I hope it will be published soon) this blue edition should remain firmly next to one's desk!

I read in the acknowledgments that the original translation from the German was made possible by a grant from Dresdner Bank AG. Thank you to Dresdner Bank & Dr. Paul Franken for making this work available to a much wider audience.

Finally a good book about this issue.......1999-05-07

I am doing a doctoral thesis about national(Spanish)and international tax law. In this book I have read the best commentary about interpretation and the "qualification problem", at the Introduction and at the Commentary to the Art. 3(2)of the OECD MC. I agree entirely with the author's point of view. The exposition about the general concepts in double taxation conventions is really understandable. The literature, decisions and law (acts...) cited is amazing. I have spent a lot of time reading this book. It has more than 1600 pages! But I am completely satisfied. At this moment I have the book on my right and I'll have it for many time

Klaus Vogel on Double Taxation Conventions: A Commentary to the Oecd-, Un- And Us Model Conventions for the Avoidance of Double Taxation of Income A

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Klaus Vogel on Double Taxation Conventions: A Commentary to the Oecd-, Un- And Us Model Conventions for the Avoidance of Double Taxation of Income A
Klaus Vogel
Manufacturer: Kluwer Law Intl
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Binding: Hardcover

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Klaus Vogel on Double Taxation Conventions

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Klaus Vogel on Double Taxation Conventions
Klaus Vogel
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ASIN: B000MUDZD2

Klaus Vogel on Double Taxation Conventions - Commentary to the OECD-, UN- and US-Model Conventions for

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Klaus Vogel on Double Taxation Conventions - Commentary to the OECD-, UN- and US-Model Conventions for
Vogel , and Klaus Vogel
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 9065448365

Book Description

Standard reference provides remarkably full, compact descriptions of fungal pathogens and diseases they cause. Alphabetically arranged with copious references to the literature (nearly 9000 in all). Also, an excellent appendix of host plants, their major and minor pathogens, selected references, list of common and botanical names of host plants and two indexes of fungi under perfect and conidial state names. Bibliography.

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This book gives a practical approach to the industrial and international regulatory aspects of biosafety in biotechnology. Chapters cover relevant local legal requirements, policy-making bodies and regulatory agencies, providing practical guidelines to industry on how to comply with regulations. Industrial aspects covered include a review of industrially acquired illness, environmental monitoring and handling of fermentation plant equipment.

Genetically Modified Organisms: A Guide to Biosafety (Cabi Publishing)

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Genetically Modified Organisms: A Guide to Biosafety (Cabi Publishing)

Manufacturer: CABI
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ASIN: 0851989721

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For a number of years the promise of biotechnology has been dimmed by concerns over the intrinsic safety of transgenic organisms. Although considerable knowledge of the properties of recombinant systems and a vast volume of data gathered from different applications of biotechnology are now available, these concerns are still evident. In the developing world, there are also fears that such countries might be used as testing grounds for recombinant products. Considerations of this nature have often overshadowed the benefits these countries might derive from the application of genetic engineering. In response to these concerns, UNIDO, together with the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Health Organization, formed in 1985 the Informal Working Group on Biosafety. In 1991 the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations also joined the Group. The present volume was commissioned by the Group and is intended to help scientists and regulators to conceptualize the major issues underlying biological safety as well as to understand how these affect policies to regulate biotechnology.

Methods for Risk Assessment of Transgenic Plants, IV. Biodiversity and Biotechnology (Methods for Risk Assessment of Transgenic Plants)

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Methods for Risk Assessment of Transgenic Plants, IV. Biodiversity and Biotechnology (Methods for Risk Assessment of Transgenic Plants)

Manufacturer: Birkhäuser Basel
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 3764366575

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This volume is an edited account of an international workshop in Bern about the effects of transgenic plants on biodiversity, a hotly debated topic in the risk assessment research community. Well-known scientists in this field present important new results from their work. Main focus is put on the impact of agricultural biotechnology on ecosystems, social, ethical and legal issues and the impact of biotechnology on conservation. Furthermore, methodological questions, like how to judge biosafety aspects stemming from given research results, are discussed.

Analysis of the Biosafety System for Biotechnology in Kenya: Application of a Conceptual Framework

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Analysis of the Biosafety System for Biotechnology in Kenya: Application of a Conceptual Framework
Patricia L. Traynor
Manufacturer: International Service for National Agricultur
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Solvent Extraction in Biotechnology deals with the recovery and purification of primary and secondary metabolites by solvent extraction. In the first part the reaction engineering principles: definitions, thermodynamic fundamentals, and system models, the kinetics of mass transfer between two phases without and with chemical reaction as well as extraction equipment, which are important for downstream processing in biotechnology, are considered in detail. The special part of the book describes the recovery of low-molecular metabolites: alcohols, acids and antibiotics with organic solvents, carrier-modifier-solvent systems, supercritical gases as well as with liquid membrane techniques. Several practical examples are given for the recovery of different metabolites as well as for the calculation of the extraction processes necessary for equipment design. Besides solvent extraction, novel separation techniques with liquid membrane, microemulsion and reversed micelles are also presented. This book will introduce the biochemical engineer and process engineer to the recovery of products from complex cultivation broths by modern techniques of solvent extraction and help them with process design.

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Nobel Laureate Physicist, Sheldon Glashow, who first proposed the charmed quark, the zee-zero particle, and the idea of grand unification, surveys sciences on-going quest to explain the wonders of nature in terms of the simplest laws and the smallest particles; from fire, water, earth, and air to quarks and leptons, from the Leaning Tower of Pisa to todays Supercolliders. This is physics for poets who can count.

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