overnment Russia could then start to pay its military, arrest plutocrats, collect taxes, and restore order with force. The plutocrats steal, bribe, and evade taxes because they can, and will continue to unless they are punished, or afraid they will be punished. Bribery and corruption will only stop when it is risky to commit. Morality can not be bought, but it can be instilled with fear. After plutocrats are arrested, and corrupt officials stop supporting them, the oligarchy of Russia will fall. Only then, after the Russian government repossesses its businesses and assets from the plutocrats, the economy begin to rise.No one will invest now because the plutocrats would just take the investments for personal profit. When Russia returns to a government owned and controlled economy, the U.S. should remove as many tariff and non-tariff barriers as possible, offer the former Soviets a trade treaty, and push the Europeans to do the same. This will facilitate the trade and export of products in which Russia has a comparative advantage, such as mineral and energy sources. And if for reasons of patrimony they do not want to sell assets, then they should enter into long-term leases to get Western management and technology.The other options for Russia have very obvious problems. If the west simply gives money to Russia, then it will surely disappear into the hands of the plutocrats. We gave, for example, $44 billion in aid to the former Soviet Union, about which Ed Hewitt of the National Security Council said, "No one quite knows where it all went" (Wolosky 20). Aid programs, such as The U.S. Food Assistance Package for Russia, and Russian Relief, are great, but keep in mind they don't fix anything permanently. Providing services and programs like these help stop suffering, but will not fix the government, economy, or do any major long term good. The programs may solve problems for the people, but not for the country. This type of ai...
