Russia and its Lack of a Government

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Russia and its Lack of a Government

The main problem in Russia is lack of a non-corrupt government. It is impossible to run any country, poor or rich, crime or no crime, healthcare or no healthcare, economy or no economy, without some sort of government. Russia needs assistance in the form of socialist diplomatic support, advice, and very carefully monitored loans. There is no question of producing a Marshall Plan for Russia of the sort that the United States pioneered after World War II, but Russia needs to make that plan, and the U.S. needs to let Russia know that plan will be supported. Although the conditions in Russia differ significantly from the post-war Europe, this struggling nation needs a similar plan to restore it's economy, government, and human rights. Russia is in a desperate state of despair, suffering from poverty, crime, and disease, and needs aid from the U.S. It is also in the interest of the U.S. to provide this aid, as long as the aid is targeted at areas that would best boost Russia's terrible statistics, and turn Russia into a successful trading partner.

Poverty is a huge problem facing Russia. In a country with such long traditions of statistical manipulation and hostility to the inquiries of the state, it is not easy to pin down the true extent of poverty in Russia. But there is little doubt that the picture is looking increasingly bleak. United Nations figures suggest that the purchasing power of average income in the USSR in 1987 was about $6,000 or 32 per cent of the level of the US (Andrew, "POVERTY: Bleak future for the poor"). By 1996, it was just $4,531 in adjusted terms, or 17 per cent of the US level (Andrew, "POVERTY: Bleak future for the poor"). Since the collapse of the Sovie...

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...more successful in the past, a socialist government owned system might be recommended for Russia. This type of economy would help stop the Russian plutocrats who currently run the economy. After Russia has a strong government, it can create its own social programs for the needy. Maybe after Russia restructures itself and obtains a strong government, then it can begin to slowly strife for capitalism and democracy, but for now Russia has larger problems and should follow Cuba's model of socialism.

Bibliography

Jack, Andrew, "POVERTY: Bleak future for the poor," http://www.ft.com/ftsurveys/sc3ee6.htm, Internet, 4/28/00

Lynch, Allen, Great Decisions, Report Card on Survival, New York, The Chase Manhattan Corporation, 1999

Powell, David E., The Dismal State of Health Care in Russia, 1999

Wolosky, Lee S., Putin's Plutocrat Problem, 1999

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