Didn't come as any surprise to anyone watching the Soviets over a period of time. The fact is that the Soviet underground economy had grown to the point of being roughly the equivalent of the official, legitimate economy.

Tom would laud this as free enterprise. Off the books, barter, under the table payments, unrecorded cash purchases.

In short, any and everything to avoid taxes. Evolved to the extent that the 50% of tax paying enterprises had to carry the burden for 100% of the costs of government-and government was overspending because of their expansionist programs.

Corruption killed the Soviet Union, and it can kill any economic system that is left unregulated, un-controlled, and un-policed. Our Enron scandle is just an example. To continue, a society must strive to be a just society and have the laws and authority to encourage those governed by those laws to not become the "Russian Mafia." And most importantly, government itself cannot be allowed to become the law breakers by those governed.

Publius