Russia's privatization chief quit today. No official reason was given for his resignation, but Kokh has been widely accused of rigging government privatization. Somehow it seemed bidders favored by the government always won. The buyer was a big financial supporter of Boris Yeltsin's re-election campaign last year. Kokh's replacement will be Maxim Boiko, Yeltsin's Deputy Chief of Staff.
Analysts here seem to welcome the change.
They hope Boiko will pursue openness, competition, and fairness in overseeing future privatizations . Those are all areas in which his predecessor was seen as weak. In Moscow, I'm David McGuffin, for Marketplace. New York City's public advocate Mark Green traveled to Washington today, bearing a new study he says shows an alarming trend in the world of prescription drugs. Green alleges that pharmacists are being forced to change prescriptions, often without the patient's knowledge, for reasons that have more to do with drug industry profits than patient care.