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Well, first of all, thank you for your kind words about my intelligence and not entirely evil Russians :)) As for us being doomed, I think, following one of my favorite writers Mark Twain, the rumors of our death are being greatly exaggerated :))

You have raised several points. Let's start from the backward society. Unfortunately, I am not familiar with the works of Banfield, but what you have said is in fact part of the problem of transaction costs. Indeed, transitional and underdeveloped ("backward") economies suffer from high transaction costs that are due to the absence of trust and, more importantly, lack of proper enforcement mechanisms such as non-corrupt and efficient judicial system. Italy is a good example indeed. All post-socialist countries of the Eastern Europe are also good examples, Russia included. The transaction costs are admiringly low in the US, which indeed explains to a major extent your economic strength. However, this does not mean that all other economies are doomed. There are ways of dealing with this situation. I cannot say I am happy with the level of understanding of the seriousness of the problem demonstrated by the Russian government, but I cannot also say that Russia is "morally bankrupt and incapable of modern infrastructures". This rumor is extremely exaggerated :))

It is quite possible that you do not know this but the merchant ethics in pre-Soviet Russia was one of the strongest in the world. People were more often dealing against their word of honor rather than using written contracts. Seventy years of Communism had destroyed much of this but you will be amazed how much did survive. So I would be more careful with dooming anybody based on incomplete evidence.

"Silly aspiration of imperialism". Well, aspirations of imperialism in the modern world are always dangerous and often destructive. America will do well if it remembers this when determining its strategy in the post-Iraq world. However, again the evidence is quite incomplete and suffers from media cliche. There are many levels to this discussion, we can continue if you still be interested. In brief: Russia does not want to rule or own anybody. Russia wants to have good and friendly relations with everybody, but especially with its sister countries. You do not charge that Brits are imperialists because they maintain the British Commonwealth and Queen Elizabeth II formally rules Canada and Australia. And Canada, Australia, South Africa, India, etc.etc.etc. are indeed former British colonies, as are the United States. Ukraine has never been a Russian colony. It has never been conquered or settled by Russians. Ukraine is a sister nation which was separated from Russia in a very specific historical situation (conquered by Poland, to be precise) and then reunited with Russia, and this reunification happened well before the establishment of the USA. We lived in a single state for 350 years, since 1654. This is a long time to take the current problems in the Russian-Ukrainian relations lightly. You would not take it lightly if Texas and California were to cede, won't you? And you did take Texas and California by force and colonized them (i.e., settled there), which was never the case with Ukraine. Right now the historical situation is that you do not fear cessation of Texas and California. Nobody in the Soviet Union feared cessation of Ukraine only 20 years ago.

"As for us being doomed, I think, following one of my favorite writers Mark Twain, the rumors of our death are being greatly exaggerated :))"

When Reagan jawboned oil down to $14/ barrel , it doomed Russia aka USSR and it will happen again when oil goes back to the $20's

"It is quite possible that you do not know this but the merchant ethics in pre-Soviet Russia was one of the strongest in the world. People were more often dealing against their word of honor rather than using written contracts. Seventy years of Communism had destroyed much of this but you will be amazed how much did survive."

Banfield notes that a lack of ethics and trust is more damning for economies than any other factor.

You admit that Russia lots its ethics under the communists and whatever survived is now being hamhanded by Putin. Investors flee coutries ruled by despots that have imperial intentions.

"Silly aspiration of imperialism". Well, aspirations of imperialism in the modern world are always dangerous and often destructive. America will do well if it remembers this when determining its strategy in the post-Iraq world"

America is not imperialist - it saved the world from the fascists and communists and the Japanese militarists over the course of two world wars. Russia is imperialistic - it is a parasite to the countries it conquers eg the Baltic states, Ukraine, Czech, Hungary because its inefficient despotic system cannot create value otherwise.

"Ukraine has never been a Russian colony. It has never been conquered or settled by Russians."

You are right and a better example would be a blood sucking vampire.

The czars used the human engine of the Breadbasket of Europe
to build St Pete as did the Communists when they sucked it dry during the famine genocides of 1921, 1932, and 1947.

What is the present value of all the posessions of 15 million people as well as the million of tons of food they would have consumed over the course of 5 or 6 years starting in 1921.

I could ball park it at $80 Billion.

Surely you don't think that an inefficient system like Communism can create the value needed for $5/lb beluga cavier and chandaliered subways.

No this came from the proceeds of the liquidaton of tens of millions.

Russia is most definitely doomed as it can no longer subsidize its inefficient system with human biomass.

I look forward to Red Square being renamed Orange. Then Russia will have joined the 21st century.