Where is Russia Going? Back to the USSR, of Course
Some historical context is essential here. In the heyday of the 1990s, especially early on, there was a fire sale on all state-owned businesses. The state-owned enterprises gave shares to workers, making these technically owned by these workers feel owned. That did not last.
People who had cash-bought these companies for Pennies on the dollar. Or are these kopecks on the ruble? This led to the first generation of oligarchs. Many of these were also fans of the shock therapy applied to the country, which included things like the massive subsidy on bread.
Before this went away, state bakeries produced bread that was so cheap that it made zero sense to try to bake it at home. This is one reason why pensioners starved. This is the era when Vladimir Putin drove a taxi before entering politics in St Petersburg and the rise of the Osera cooperative. So now we are reversing the privatization policies of the 1990s. This is but the latest example:
The Prosecutor General’s Office demanded the nationalization of the largest plant producing machine tools in Russia😬
In Russia, the reversal of the privatization results of the 1990s continues. The Prosecutor General’s Office considered the transfer of the Ivanovo Heavy Machine Tool Plant (IZTS) into the hands of private owners illegal and demanded…