These propaganda campaigns, according to Mr. Borovoy, began in 1992, but didn't gain strength until October of 1998, after Mr. Primakov was appointed Prime Minister. Under Primakov, the heads of several important news agencies were replaced with former secret service officers. On the subject of corruption in Russia and allegations of Russian money laundering in US banks, Mr. Borovoy suggested that US aid to Russia could be part of the problem. He said that the head of the Russian stock market addressed an appeal to President Clinton in 1992, warning that US aid to Russia could cause the growth of corruption and lead to money laundering. After a series of endless elections, the Russian masses see than nothing has changed with the changing politicians and political parties.
People see only that the socioeconomic situation is deteriorating.
The most important factor in political development, he said, is a working economy. The problem, according to Mr. Rud, is that Russia has left behind state ownership of property, but hasn't yet reached private ownership. Vladimir Gayev, a local administrator from the Samara region, said that the root of Russia's economic problems is the tax system. Tax rates are too high, he said, leading to poverty and bankruptcy. Anatoly Pistsov, the deputy minister of Internal Affairs in the Komi Republic, said that a major reason for capital flight is the weakness and instability of the Russian banking system.