Back years ago, I had a hand in the construction of the US Embassy in Moscow. All of the Glaziers were women. The men were drunks and not allowed. Overtime was a no no. Quitting time came and out the gate. They could however be induced. If there was a need to work over, a pair of panty hose was palced in the foreman’s drawer for each woman needed to work over. Vice grips just disappeared. They were unknown in USSR and highly valued.
I didn’t ever visit the job site because the number of Americans was tightly controlled.
Later , after the fall, I was talked into a visit by the Tennessee Trade commission to take part in Operation Moscow. Generally it was a failure because they had no money. On the second and third trips we bought Tylenol by the gallon and put 10 tablets to a baggie. That provided all sorts of entry and good service.
Still later, I had a small input to a USAID program where churches could send stuff to churches abroad and the US Government paid the freight. I saw half a forty foot container load of panty hose be shipped to a church organization Moldova. It was at least 15 years since my first experience there and they still hadn’t mastered making panty hose. They had learned to game the system
I never made the trip
Human capital is the most valuable. Unfortunately, it’s easier to say that then it is to create it. The ethos of the Soviet Union is alive in many ways, in their habits, and in their weird love of the irrational strong man.