If you have questions about Russia - come here! (Poll added!)

[Mr Khan]

haxxiy said:

lukeroux said:

Sharu said:

lukeroux said:
Because we're paying for comunisim to this day.

Guys, at least last 25 years you're by yourself. But you prefer building better Poland by cleaning pipes in UK.

If it wasn't for you guys we wouldn't have to.

GDP per capita on Eastern Europe has been a stable one third compared to the West for at least three centuries now, though, mostly because of the Atlantic trade corridor, and a favorable climate before that. Except for the 80's, the economic growth under communism wasn't that bad. It wasn't catching up, but it wasn't eating dust either.

On the other hand, the fall of the communist regime demographically condemned most of Eastern Europe, with a few exceptions (Russia itself and the Caucasus nations). I think the Eastern bloc could have made the necessary economic and social changes and pull a China, but instead it collapsed in a rather spetacular fashion ://

Yeah. I'm not a terrible enemy of the free markets, but they need to be adopted judiciously. If you go from a heavily regulated, protected market to a market with fewer barriers to trade, all you end up with is a country with no comparative advantage (due to said protectionism) getting eaten alive by foreign firms, then everyone is out of work and you have real trouble...

The de-nationalization of the end of Communism was something that should have been undertaken gradually, even in the multiparty environment. (e.g., the death of economic Communism should have been slower than the death of political Communism).