The Teacher as a Hero

The teacher as a hero LESSONS PLANNED from the teacher's pen (The Philippine Star) Updated October 01, 2009 T here are heroes and heroes, national and local. Some of them are born, others are made. Many are still living while many others have long been gone. It is to the latter that monuments and museums were built to keep alive their memory in our hearts and mind. Public buildings, parks and plazas, streets and a few provinces have been named after them. Important dates and events are usually marked red in the calendar to remind us of their birth or death anniversary. During the celebration of these events, program speakers take turns extolling to high heavens whatever good they had done for the country. Sad enough the hero who is apparently taken for granted and therefore unsung is the poor teacher. Not having a pedigreed name, she has no influence, no power. She is regarded as belonging to the marginalized sector of society. Tactless people look down on her with contempt saying, â€Å"She’s only a teacher. † After all, unlike OFWs, teachers do not contribute to the national economy. What many do not seem to realize is that a teacher is truly a hero in her own way. For a teacher is not only about her lesson plans, her teaching methods, strategies and techniques. A teacher is also about her personal character, her values and her attitude. And more importantly a teacher is also about her missionary work which entails a great deal of sacrifice on her part and her family. Indeed, the pro-bono services that she renders involve numerous risks to life and limb. We have heard of teachers who were kidnapped for ransom, forced into marriage under pain of bodily harm, physically abused and the unfortunate, even beheaded. I remember a male teacher who reprimanded a student for provoking trouble in class. That afternoon the huffy father with fire in his eyes sought the teacher in school and mercilessly hacked him to death. I had a relative who was summoned to the Comelec office in Manila and made to explain her inadvertence to affix her signature on a pair of election forms. The financially distressed teacher was forced to take a long-term loan which she used to pay for her transportation fare, board and lodging while in Manila. In the meantime her family had to be sparing and frugal in order to tide them over until such period that the loan was fully paid. While other government employees are off after five, the teacher spends long hours of work at home writing lesson plans, checking test papers or preparing visual aids and similar teaching devices. Compared to those who work in the comfort of their office, thousands of our teachers go on long hours of journey to their far-flung stations over hill and dale, many times in harsh weather condition. It is no wonder that many of these teachers become decrepit long before their age or they get pitifully sick before retirement from the service. And yet their take-home pay is a mere pittance. Any increase in their starvation salary comes far apart and in trickles because this is dependent upon the members of Congress who remember the teachers only on election time. Come May of next year teachers will again be called upon to man the electoral ramparts of our democracy. They will be there to help safeguard the sanctity of the ballot, armed only with the nobility and integrity of their profession. Whatever people say to the contrary, the teacher as a hero is ready to lay down her life for the sake of country sans a loud flourish of trumpets. I salute our teachers as heroes, living or dead! ANTONIO A. MORAN of Camalig, Albay is a retired general education supervisor of the Department of Education.

BRAAAP Company Essay

Introduction The Braaap motorcycle brand was established in 2008 by Brad Smith. Brad began with a vision to supply motorbikes which would making motorcycling more fun and accessible for people. The plan from the start was to build a motorcycle that would compete with custom built American race bikes, but be affordable for people that wish to have a go at this sport. It took a lot of visits to different manufacturers before they found one that believed in his vision. Since then it has been onwards and upwards for the Braaap brand, they have their own concept stores in Tasmania and Victoria, and franchise opportunities throughout Australia and the rest of the world. Braaap are also one of the only motorcycle brands on the market to offer a lifetime warranty. Key Characteristics of Braaap products and services The Braaap products have four major features to their products and services, they are: Lifetime warranty option, customisation, flexible finance and built for adults. The lifetime warranty option is available on all their products and bikes. Having this option improves the attractiveness of the product to their customers and gives them piece of mind about repairs and maintenance on aspects of their bikes. Customisation is another feature that Braaap offer to their customers. This means that the customers can choose from a wide range of colours and accessories to personalise their motorbikes to suit their own tastes. This doesn’t impact the performance of the bikes at all, in fact with all the different options available to purchase the customer can change some of the accessories on their bikes as their tastes change. This would actually improve the life of the bike and make certain that customers would perhaps return at a later stage to either upgrade their bikes or their cust omisations. Currently 37% of Braaap customers return at later stages to upgrade to full size bikes. Flexible finance is a big feature that Braaap offer, from $3 per day finance it makes owning a motorcycle very affordable for most people. As the bikes vary in price, Braaap will provide term payment and also a rent to own option. This enables customers to ride now and pay later. Braaap bikes have been spec ifically designed to that adults can ride them. They have the Learn to Ride program,  Lifetime Coaching and Ride Club which enables most adult riders to become proficient in riding the Braaap bike the correct way Review of pricing policy and analyse pricing variables to determine their effect of demand The pricing policy for the Braaap products are based on dealership and manufacture prices, including Braaap overheads, this determines the final price that’s displayed online and instore. These prices encompass all the products within the Braaap brand from clothing, spare parts, motorcyc les etc Prices for the bikes are as follows: Kids 50cc$1,799.00 88cc$1,999,00 125cc$2,399.00 Classic 150cc$2.999.00 Maistro 150cc$3,999.00 Pro 190cc$4,649.00 Road Racer 250cc$3,999.00 Braaap are a reasonably priced brand with the performance of the other major motorbike brands like Yamaha and Honda. Yamaha in comparison with the 250 cc road racer with a similar model sells for around $8,999.00 and Honda is around $4,300.00.This means that they are competitively priced and affordable to the mass market. One problem that could arise is the price of the components, if the cost of these rise this could influence the overall price of the motorbikes. Other factors that could affect this is the strength of of the Australian Dollar and the international market. Analyse the impact and importance of the following elements to market outcomes. a/The promotional methods – Customer Interaction Programs like having permanent ride clubs established to provide safe and fun riding environments for all riders from beginners to the more advanced. They have a ride club with sponsored events and  fundraisers; these provide another alternative for riders of all levels to be involved. They also have email newsletters that people can get regular updates as well as a facebook page (38570 likers) which promotes the safe riding environment and a place for people to interact with others. Using current technology is a huge plus for Braaap as the website is full of information, embedded videos for customers to see and also online stores and information about franchise opportunities, dealership opportunities and staff opportunities. b/Channels of distribution – The channels of distribution are online and instore. They have also introduced a franchise opportunity within Australia and are actively looking at distributors in the international market. The dealership opportunity is very generous with a Cashflow Positive Guarantee which removes cashflow risk. The other benefits are the same as the concept stores with the easy finance option, Braaap website availability plus customisation etc. c/Level of customer service provided_ Braaap have passionate and motivated sales staff that excel in the level of customer service provided. The despatch from their online stores is fast (the plan is to have parts ordered during the week and to the customer by the weekend so they can ride). The Braaap Company has a high expectation with regards to their customer service and they only employ driven people that love the motorcycle industry as much as they do. Braaap also demands a high level of customer service to be provided to their customers from their partners within Australia, NZ and the USA. Identify Braaap’s potential customer base and key pressure points for success in reaching them Braaap’s potential customer base is the 80% of customer’s new to the sport. They are not actively targeting the existing 3% of customers that currently own dirt bikes. The way that Braaap reach their potential clients is via social media, hosting dirt bike events regularly and through their Learn to Ride programs (registration is done on their website). Establish the components of the marketing mix, include information on how  each element of the marketing mix has been used, their significance to each other and their relevance to the customer base.

Assist with compliance with Occulpational health & safety and other Essay

Assist with compliance with Occulpational health & safety and other relevant laws - Essay Example Moreover, it can have a general or basic application. It may define specific requirements associated with particular hazard or specific type of work. These regulations may also allow several granting or licensing of important certificates and approvals. These codes of practices concerned with protecting, welfare, safety and health of people who are involved in work or employment in an organization. Main objective of these codes is to ensure safe and healthy work environment which is beneficial for the employees as well as the organization. These codes are being practiced and positioned in the legislation in order to family members, employers, employees and other co-workers who can be injured due to several work place hazards. It is true that, several organizations face these ethical and legal issues. In spite of several workplace safety and health issues, the organizations are practicing their inadequate business operations in order to maximize the profit and reduce the operational c ost. Moreover, in most of time they are denying to pay compensation to the employees who are affected due to workplace hazards. Therefore, The Human Resource Ministry has ensured that the safety, welfare and health of the employees need to be upheld by both private and public sector organizations through these legislation codes. Under machinery and workplace welfare act, the employers are bound to improve their inadequate working condition and pay compensations to injured employees (Granger 291). Overall, these codes help the employees to achieve health and safety benefits from their employers or organizations. Now-a-days, several multinational organizations are following these codes in order to avoid several workplace ethical and legal issues. Application to Specific Workplace Health and Safety Matters Several workplace hazards can violate the organizational working environment of several companies. Various workplace accidents and calamities, such as flying sparks, falling objects, chemical, noise and sharp edge can cause a critical situation. Therefore, it is important for the employers to control and minimizes the negative effect of workplace hazards. Following the codes is the only best possible way to protect the employees from these calamities. According to occupational health and safety act, the employers need to have effective controlling element to protect their employees from workplace hazards. The employers need to offer several types of PPE to employees during the lack of workplace and administrative feasibility period. First and foremost, the employers need to understand several types of PPE that can be provided to the employees. According to this act, the employers need to conduct an effective workplace hazard assessment. Then the employers need to provide the appropriate PPE options based on the issues and incidents (Kloss 121). It is important for the employers to go through an effective training programme to utilize several types of PPE based on specific situation in order to overcome the threat of workplace disaster. Both the employers and employees are responsible to maintain an effective workplace culture and environment. A collaborative effort will ensure limited workplace hazards and issues. These codes of practices have recommended several key aspects to both employers and employees. According to the codes, employers should organize training programm

Analysis of Business Operations Shuzworld Inc Term Paper

Analysis of Business Operations Shuzworld Inc - Term Paper Example The three options that are available to Shuzworld are as follows: Buy new equipment for the Shanghai facility; Recondition the existing equipment at the Shanghai facility, or Outsource production to a vendor in China. The purchasing of the new equipment will definitely cost the companies a lot but that will have its own benefits in terms of its long-term usage and reliability, which is the main concern of many of the companies. The second option to use reconditioned equipment is another source through which the companies can start their business in a new location or in their headquarters. The reconditioned equipment will be available from the market at a lower cost and will give the start-up companies or the emerging companies an opportunity to start work with the lesser amount of investment. The companies will be able to follow the cost-effective measures that they have thought about and then will be able to work on the other tasks after the first task of cost management has been ef fectively done as the reconditioned equipment will be cheaper in rate. However, there will be one issue of the reliability of the machines, as they might need repairs often. This may be a major problem for an emerging company who might not have a backup plan if the main machinery gets damaged. This may cause Shuzworld to cease the production process as well. The third option in terms of using the equipment is related to outsourcing the work and operations to another contractor company. This will ease the management in a way that they will need labor that will handle operations in the work field as that responsibility will now be sole of the contractor company. The main disadvantage of using this option is that the companies might pay more for the products that they could produce themselves at their own plants at lesser costs. The decision on which option to choose will also depend on the current and forecast demand for Samba Sneakers. The buy and recondition options both have fixed cost but comparatively lower variable cost than the outsourcing option. The choice will depend on the number of Samba sneakers that Shuzworld expects to produce. Sensitivity analysis can be used to inform the decision. Sensitivity analysis is a technique that is used to determine ‘how the variation in the output of a model can be apportioned to different sources of variation’ and how a given model will be influenced by information fed into it.  

Explain the theme of Work and Identity in Kafkas The Metamorphosis Essay

Explain the theme of Work and Identity in Kafkas The Metamorphosis. How is Kafkas work existentialist - Essay Example Gregor is forced to work hard; â€Å"slavery† can be the best term to describe Gregor’s state in the family. He is forced to make cash for the family members. Gregor is viewed as a source of income to the family but not as a member of it. The family has shown that without money, received from Gregor’s hard work, they have no business in associating with him. The neglect is witnessed after the metamorphosis process. Gregor had to undergo revulsion and neglect from the family members as a result of the metamorphosis process. In addition, the effects of money can be seen to be present in the family immediately they begin working. Work and money has made it difficult for family members to communicate, and to eat together (Kafka par 1). On debt, Gregor longs for the day; he will be able to pay all his debts and quit the job. As long as the debts are owed, Gregor cannot stop working because the family depends on the salary received from the job. Debt and work; denied Gregor the freedom from restrictive demands of the society. During the metamorphosis process, Gregor escapes from the debts and duties which have long troubled him. However, the metamorphosis, which is seen as escapism, does not fully help Gregor in achieving full freedom. The family members have decided to imprison Gregor in his room (Kafka par 4). On existentialism and work, an individual’s destiny depends upon that individual and their ability to make choices. Kafka explains the metamorphosis process in relating the way in which Gregor must work to provide for the family. Family duty had to be done by Gregor. Gregor needed money to provide for the basic need to his parents as well as send the sister to a school. Work and family duty has to be done, despite the challenges being experience. However, the efforts put in place by Gregor in providing for the family is not appreciated. The family sees him as a source of income, slave, and a bother (Kafka par 6). After the

Technology research paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Technology research paper - Essay Example Some of the reasons include media intrusiveness and little added value that the Picturephone had over the normal telephones. Some articles report that the Picturephone failed to hit the markets positively because it lacked a robust reference point for its take-up. A majority of the successful new technologies have reference points, which are not extreme, for the society to get. Certain new technologies may seem disruptive but with societal reference point, these technologies are likely to be adopted by the society if they provide incremental improvements to the new users instead of comprehensive divergence from the normal life practices (Coburn 33)i. Prior surveys, before the Picturephone was launched, revealed that the market consumers were uncomfortable with the concept of being seen in the process of a telephone conversation. The Bell System defied the customers’ desires and wants proceeding to develop the new technology which was regarded as a solution seeking a problem. The Picturephone did not succeed because it failed to address the problems of the customers in the market, hence, customers did not have a reason to purchase and adopt the equipment (Brown 16). The Picturephones were installed in certain areas, such as Chicago and New York, in the United States in the 1960s and the cost of making telephone calls using these new technology equipment ranged between $16 and $27 for every minute used to make a call. Only 71 patrons had acquired the picturephones within the first half year of their development and marketing. Unfortunately, within a span of six years, the patrons of the Picturephones had declined to zero (Kaigo 3)ii. The use of Picturephones in making telephone calls was considered to be intrusive and crossed the privacy boundary of the users. The Picturephones did not improve the information on the voice but only made little advances on the communication. The flop of the technology

Analyze George Orwell's, Shooting An Elephant through the eyes of the Essay

Analyze George Orwell's, Shooting An Elephant through the eyes of the author of the Moral Instinct Steven Pinker - Essay Example This has never been put across more effectively as in the George Orwell’s essay, shooting the elephant. The author is forced by the general expectation to do what he does not believe in. He takes us through his ordeal so that we can understand the reasoning we often undergo in order to make decisions that seem conflicting in our lives. It’s not just the content of our moral judgments that is often questionable, but the way we arrive at them. We like to think that when we have a conviction, there are good reasons that drove us to adopt it (Steve 1).Orwell goes to a great length to try to justify decisions he made in this essay. A great lesson can be learned from his work. The author hated being a police officer. This was because he was secretly against imperialism which he was a part of. He was against the oppression of the Burmese people. He says he hated the job bitterly than he could clearly put across in the essay. He lives a miserable life, since he hates his empire and cannot voice his concerns. The people he seems to care about are against him and they make his life impossible. This is a tough way to live. He hated the conditions of prisoners huddled together and the sight of the oppressed. What keeps him on the job? Orwell tries to draw an emotion from us. He tries to make us fit his shoes so we can see how tough it was for him to quit his job. He was uneducated and young and could not seek employment elsewhere. He would have chosen to quit this job which did not stand his moral grounds rather than stay in unhappy employment. This builds on the fact that people seek justifications for actions they do in order to feel accepted. This is not the only incident that the author is faced with such a situation. He is called upon to kill an elephant which had gone rogue. He describes the pressure he felt. â€Å"And suddenly I realized that I should have to shoot the elephant after all. The people expected it of me and I had got to do it; I could fe el their two thousand wills pressing me forward, irresistibly.† (Orwell 1). What made the matter worse was that the elephant was a tame one. He considered shooting a working an elephant a very serious offence comparable only to destroying a piece of machinery a decision which should have been avoided at all costs. With these strong convictions the reader is almost led to believe that Orwell was not going to kill the elephant. However despite being so against the action of taking the creatures life he goes ahead and does it. In trying to justify his action he claims that he would have looked like a fool. He did in order just to save face. This according to the reader is not a good enough reason but to him it is a reassurance that what he did was right. The oppressor is often viewed to be above the oppressed. Orwell in this situation proclaims that this is not always the case. He realizes that tyranny only jeopardizes the freedom of the oppressor. The tyrant is viewed by the opp ressed as being heartless and has to live up to these expectations. The tyrant is not allowed to show any signs of affection or weakness despite them being a part of human nature. One has to spend his life trying to impress the natives and so in every crisis he has got to do what the natives expect. The general expectation was that the white man was not supposed to be afraid of anything. Thoughts of what the people would think in case something went wrong during the

Marketing plan for the healthcare company (nursing home service) Assignment

Marketing plan for the healthcare company (nursing home service) - Assignment Example It is evident from the study that demographic structure has always played substantial differences among countries. Current demographic structure consists of two major categories. First is the ageing population of the countries and second is the young population of countries. Many underdeveloped and developing countries are facing issues related to the sizes of demographics in their countries. Underdeveloped and developing countries generally do not have such infrastructure. Lack of education, inadequate healthcare services, lightning problems, destruction of natural resources, lack of means of up-to-date communication and deficiency of transportation systems are some major reasons which increase the problems of senior citizens of many developing countries. Increase in employment in urban areas lead the younger population to migrate from rural to urban areas in order to seek jobs. Parents of those young people do not feel easy in leaving the area of which they have been used to for a long period of time. This reason has lead to the concentration the population older people in rural areas. In rural areas, they have to face more problems than that of urban areas. Having no one to care for them is another issue. Many associations and acts for securing old age rights have been established but there seems very less implementation on them. Strategies and policies should be strictly followed in order to protect the rights of senior citizens in every country. ... Parents of those young people do not feel easy in leaving the area of which they have been used to for a long period of time. This reason has lead to the concentration the population older people in rural areas. In rural areas, they have to face more problems than that of urban areas. Having no one to care for them is another issue. Many associations and acts for securing old age rights have been established but there seems very less implementation on them. Strategies and policies should be strictly followed in order to protect the rights of senior citizens in every country. Marketing Analysis In previous times, families used to take care of their parents and their problems related to ageing. But due to the changing trend, it is no longer applicable in today’s situation. NGOs and churches hardly take the complete responsibility and this leaves with a question that should happen now. The percentage of people above 75 is growing rapidly. At the same time, the increased needs of their healthcare, provides career opportunities to women for nursing. Nursing shortage can be another hurdle in taking better care of aged population. In general, people seeking for skilled nursing and assistance in living care have much similar needs, including: Treatment and plan of living To be taken care by skilled and knowledgeable nurses, clinicians. To be treated with dignity and respect. Getting actively engaged in activities like some kind of community Nowadays, it has become essentially necessary provide awareness to people regarding the benefits of health care centres and old age home services. By doing proper promotion and utilizing the sources of media, it can be done easily. Old aged population generally have to suffer a lot specially in

Game theory in setting quantity oligopoly Essay Example for Free

Game theory in setting quantity oligopoly Essay Game theory is a formal study of conflict and cooperation in economics. In fact, it is usually concerned with predicting the real outcome of the games of strategy where the potential individuals have incomplete awareness about the others’ plans. The game theoretic concepts usually apply whenever the actions of several agents are interdependent. Probably, these agents are either, groups, individuals or firms. The concepts of game theory give a language to prepare a structure, analyze, and comprehend deliberate scenarios.          Game theory has straight relevance to the study conduct of the venture as well as the performance of the firms in oligopolistic markets. A good approach is the decisions that companies takeover pricing and levels of production. Also, how much money needs to be invested in research and development expenditure (Binmore, 1993).          Oligopoly is a type of imperfectly competitive markets. It has only a few sellers, provide a related or identical product to the buyers in the market. Collusion in economics is simply an agreement of two or more firms with an aim to exclude a couple of competing companies in the market so that may obtain high profits. It is clearly that competition in the oligopolistic markets reduces accelerating the performance of that collusion. For that reason many firms quit the marketing operations enhancing profitability to the relating competitors hence deteriorating their economic decisions. This results to complete dissolution of the firms. The output of the collusion increases since most of the firms have quit the market; others loosen their momentum to adhere to the upcoming changes launched in by the oligopolistic markets (Mertens, 1994). As a matter of fact, this becomes advantageous to the remaining firms in the market (Thomas, 2003).             It is noted that collusion is a characteristic trait of oligopolistic firms. Stiff competition and interdependent decision-making encourage oligopolistic firms to cooperate. In fact, one way to lessen the oligopolistic rival is joined together and meets targeted forces forming collusion. There are two main types of collisions in an oligopolistic market. Exclusively, include explicit collusion and implicit collusion. Explicit collusion is a type of collusion which has more two than firms in the same industry. It is formally agreed to control the market force on their own way whereas implicit collusion also more than two firms in the same business but informally they have the similar outlook in the market, habitually with nothing more than interdependent (Binmore, 1993).The price collusion is a form of criminal offense since several firms work as a team so as to keep the price of commodity high with an aim to receive huge income. The relating firms involved necessar ily try to chase out their competitor. History and impact of game theory          In 19th century, game theory was first discovered by one of the early inventors. Consequently, in 1838, the first publication was done by Antoine Cornet. In broad spectrum, he came up with well-formulated researchers on the Mathematical Principles of this kind of theory basing on wealth. He went further to illustrate more on the principles of the publication relating to the game theory. Notably, he tried to explain the underlying rules constituting the actual behavior of the duopoly in the discipline. Even though this publication was associated with the theory of Games and Economics character in 1944, it had the latest principles of game theory that were formulated in it. The game theory has been greatly applied to the behavior of producers with few or one competitor. This perspective of the game theory was conceived by Von Neumann in 19th century.          In macroeconomics, oligopolistic markets are characterized by a few, large firms and its differences from the other market structures as stated above. It is noted that more competitive markets in the firms are of smaller size and its firm’s behavior have slight or no effect on its close competitors. Besides this oligopoly markets changes its output, enlarge into a new market, provides modern services and even advertize. This will have a consequential impact on the market competitors, therefore, increasing the profitability. This enhances more power in the market operation hence deviating losses had to be encountered. For this reason, the firms in oligopolistic markets are always considering the act of their competitors when implementing their economic decisions. The oligopolistic owners strictly tackle any leakages in their market so that they may attain their set goals and formulated objectives. Information exchange in collusion         In broad spectrum, information is an essential tool in planning to come up with mature and complete mechanization of the involving firms. Basing this argument on the game theory, it is realized that in decision making, information is significantly employed. For that reason, a successful collusion in the oligopoly market has sophisticated means on how to underlie its perspectives in a manner that no rival firm come to know. Therefore, crude ideas empower any collusion with a vision to reduce their competitors in the market. Advances in economic theory have enabled the economists to set competitive distinctions between different types of information exchanged between the firms. The required beneficial effect on the consumers and potential side-effects for competition depend on the nature and characteristic of the information that exchanged and also the type of competition in the market. Therefore, it should be known that firm owns the secret in the industry such as firmâ €™s prices, sales, cost demand and other parameters.According to game theory, the competitors are not supposed to get any of this secretive information. Competition authorities are strictly suspicious when information is conveyed especially about prices and quantities because this information is normally significant for monitoring deviations from collusive arrangements and hence empowering collusion. Mostly exchange of information on the cost and demand is seen in another dimension and more favorably. However, information about the prices and quantities is used to convey information about the cost or demand in collusion. For instance, when the firms share information on the past or current prices and quantities inform other players about the demand in the market. This enables their rivals to obtain inferences on how to predict the future period which is against the game theory. Notably, this will weaken their collusion that later on begins to deteriorate in their existence in th e market. As a matter of fact, demand and cost information is useful since is the central element for predicting future demand.               Effective collusion needs good coordination that is well supported by the exchange of information about their plans. This monitors the performance of the collusion in some days to come. In so doing, their rivals will be unable to out-compete them. They become prominent in the market achieving their set goals and objectives. The aggregated information determines whether the collusion will succeed or not. This depends on how the decision making is done. The aggregated information means anonymous or individualized information. Probably, such information may be valuable to the firms. Therefore, it is necessary to know who or where a certain estimate has been made or whether it is enough to comprehend the private signals in the entire industry. In addition, information can be either private or public. The effects of information exchange extremely differ depending on whether the information is made public or kept private, especially in the industry that exchange inf ormation. The game theory does not support exposure of the firm’s intentions. Definitely, they try it, their rival players will come up with the newest perspectives to out-compete them. Therefore, this should be done privately for future success (Thomas, 2003).          It realized that if the information does not give rise to competition distress it will be definitely positive to welfare. Indeed, the usefulness from information exchange is large compared to its demerits. There are quite number of the ways in which information exchange is useful in the welfare. Information exchange is a great part of the discovery mechanism in the industry economy. This implies that through exchange of information in between the formed collusion encourages expansion of the market economy. It also improves investment decision and organization learning. It is only through information where collusion members come up with complete ideas to uplift their set goals. Information exchange also results to output adjustments and lowering search costs in the firm. In the world, information is really required about the demands and rival activities. Notably, the firms would have to become accustomed to the changing circumstances by a trial and error process. Inform ation exchange is a great tool in playing the role of uplifting market economy in collusion hence output in the firms. Impact of rational behavior in collusion            Rationality is one way of decision-making practice wherein a firm exercises prudent choice making that gives it a maximum amount of benefit. Rational behavior usually facilitates decision making that is not productive in collusion. But it only strives to achieve benefits that are mostly achievable in nature. This usefulness can be either monetary or non-monetary. The word monetary stands for finance activities whereas non-monetary is associated with non-financial activities in a company. Therefore, any successful firm considers the following perspectives. This kind of decision making may not possible return materially to the firms at that moment on (Chatterjee, 2014). Therefore, rational choice theory is an economic principle. It states that firms make prudent and logical decisions so as to attain a complete satisfaction in the firm due to its abundant benefits.            The output of collusion increases over time due to changes made in by the decision makers. The identified plans that based on rational behavior usually alter operation of oligopolistic market. Operations may greatly expand performance of the company undermining its valuable transactions. When the collusion need to uplift its operation have to be economical on the way do operate their activities so that can observe a slight differences. Notably, some measures need to be employed to overcome its competition from its rivals. The firms recruit innovative and competent staffs to invest great fortune in the organization.            Competent economists formulate ideas flourishing functionality of the collusion hence uplifting profits, quantity, and its dignity. This shows how game theory is significantly applied in the oligopolistic market basing on the rational behavior. It is preferably considered as a means of competition through decision making. This scares rival players in the market such that are unable to operate their firms. Due to this condition, many firms in the markets are readily to be dissolved. The cause of this is just continuous losses experienced on every end fiscal year resulting to dissolution.             According to game theory, rational behavior is greatly a crucial tool required to make decisions that are needed to eliminate relating firms in the market. Most importantly, competing firms’ quantity reduces as well as its income accelerates due to well-played game theory in the oligopolistic market. Mainly rationality has a positive impact to the prudent collusion. Therefore, game theory is correlated to rationality behavior as far as decision making is concern in an oligopolistic market as mentioned earlier. Only that rational behavior is conditions suitable for accomplishing this specified theory (Mertens, 1994). Even though, participating firms can employ it, frequently is determined by competency of the collusion. Impact of time horizon in the collusion             In economics, time horizon is also referred to as a planning horizon, is a fixed point of time in the future at which some activities will be evaluated. It is noted that is specified a time when all planned activities or processes are supposed to terminate. Therefore, time horizon is a vital condition to any successful stakeholders. It enhances a strict time layout on how to operate your business transactions before targeted deadline. This minimizes time wastage and considers it as a significant factor in implementing business laws. Actually, the set objectives and underlain goals, with the cooperation of competent experts in business, are easily achieved. Time horizon has optimum benefits to those who put it into consideration.             Collusions have unique pathways on how they operate their organizational activities. Additions to that have business ethics for guiding set goals to reach its financial year and attain them. For a successful collusion, time horizon is much in demand to eradicate other firms out of the market. Especially, it needs strictness so that the set firm’s goal is accomplished on reaching time horizon. It confers bright future to competing firms enhancing increased output in the collusion. Time horizon sharpens performance of the most firms with an aim to make more profits in their organizations. Similarly, time horizon is a beneficial condition on practicing game theory in an oligopolistic market. It creates immense difference in the industry. The time horizon can be a month, a week or a year depending on the decision of the firm (Mertens, 1994).Broadly, time horizon is a viable and secret â€Å"tool† that empowers collusion to diminish performance of its riv als in the industry. Eventually, it becomes determinant condition in collusion leading the business to enjoy huge profits and crude output. Collusion lowers its products’ price encouraging more sales whereas its rivals remain constant to the initial price. Cost is usually lower hence encouraging more sales due to high demand. The collusion stagnates in the same price until time horizon comes. At that planning horizon, several firms would have left the industry enabling collusion with uncompetitive environment to work on (Chatterjee, 2014). Conclusion             In broad spectrum, game theory deals with decision making that reinforce competition perspectives in the market. It is kind of a game whereby participating individuals hide their intentions purposely to win over the other. In this case, information, rationality, and time horizon are determinant conditions that boost succession of collusion in an oligopolistic market. It signifies that to acquire viable benefits in the market has to employ well-formulated conditions.Therefore, cost, demand, and quantity differ from relating firms in the industry. Strictly, collusion tries to lower its prices with an aim to increase its output and eliminate the number of firms in the industry. Similarly, quantity in the industry increases with increased prices from other firms. Due to that reason number of consumers in those firms reduces joining newly formed collusion. This enforces rivals to reduce its prices of their products leading to uncountable losses hence leading to collaps ing of many firms. The collusion succeeds its target of eliminating other firms from the industry henceforth starts enjoying oligopolistic benefits including profits. Reference Binmore, K. (1993). Frontiers of game theory. Cambridge, Mass. [u.a.: MIT Press Telser, L. G. (1971). Competition, collusion, and game theory. London: Macmillan. Chatterjee, K., Samuelson, W. (2014). Game theory and business applications. New York: Springer. Mertens, J.-F., NATO Advanced Study Institute on Game-Theoretic Methods in Economic Equilibrium Analysis. (1994). Game theoretic methods in general equilibrium analysis: [proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Game Theoretic Methods in General Equilibrium Analysis, Long Island, NY USA, July 1 12, 1991]. Dordrecht [u.a.: Kluwer. Thomas, L. C. (2003). Games, theory and applications.Voigt, S., Schmidt, A. (2005). Making European merger policy more predictable. Dordrecht: Springer. Source document

An Analysis Of Boys and Girls

An Analysis Of Boys and Girls According to R. W. Connell when sex role theory provided the main framework, there was a fairly straightforward account of how people acquired gender. Babies were, from the start, identified as either female or male and put in pink and blue baby clothes respectively. Blue babies were expected to behave differently from pink babies rougher and tougher, more demanding and vigorous. In time they were given toy guns, footballs and construction sets. The pink babies, by contrast, were expected to be more passive and compliant, also prettier. As they grew older they were dressed in frilly clothes, given dolls and make-up kits, told to take care of their appearance and be polite and agreeable (94). This type of gender practice can be seen in Alice Munros story Boys and Girls. This is a story about a young girls resistance to womanhood in a society infested with gender roles and stereotypes. Munro makes the point that gender stereotyping, relationships, and a loss of innocence play an impor tant, and often controversial role in the growing and passing into adulthood for many young children. This story takes place in the 1940s on a fox farm outside of Jubilee. During this time, women are viewed as second class citizens, but the narrator is not going to accept this position without a fight. Alice Munro creates an unnamed and therefore undignified, female protagonist and thus she proposes that the narrator is without identity or the prospect of power. Unlike the girl, the young brother Laird is named a name that means lord and implies that he, by virtue of his gender alone, is invested with identity and is to become a master. This stereotyping in names alone seems to represent that gender does play an extreme role in the initiation of young children into adults. R. W. Connell claims that the socialization model recognizes just one direction of learning towards the sex role norms. It is difficult, in such a framework, to understand the changes of direction that often appear in a young persons life, coming apparently from nowhere. Such changes can be seen in the story. Growing up, the young girl loves to help her father outside with the foxes, rather than to aid her mother with dreary and peculiarly depressing work in the kitchen. In this escape from her predestined responsibilities, the narrator looks upon her mothers assigned tasks to be endless, while she views the work of her father as ritualistically important. This view illustrates her happy childhood, filled with dreams and fantasy. Her contrast between the work of her father and the chores of her mother, symbolizes an arising struggle between what the narrator is expected to do and what she wants to do. Work done by her father is viewed as being real, while that done by her mother is considered boring. Conflicting views of what is fun and what is expected lead the narrator to her initiation into adulthood. The protagonist in the story begins to realize societys views of her when her father introduces her to a salesman, while she is working outside, as his new hired hand. She is almost pleased until the salesman replies I thought it was only a girl. Even her grandmother bombards her with commands, Girls keep their knees together when they sit down. And Girls dont slam doors like that. The worst is when she asks a question and her grandmother answers Thats none of a girls business. Even after that, she continues to slam doors and sit awkwardly because she feels that it keeps her free. In other words, she is not ready to accept and claim her gender identity a tendency that disturbs her mother and it is at this time, that the mother, good intentionally shackles her daughter to her correct place in the world to prepare her for stereotypes later on in life. However, after talking with her mother, the narrator realises that she has to become a girl; A girl was not, as I had supposed, simply what I was; it was what I had to become. Here, the narrator realises that there is no escape from the predetermined duties that go along with the passage of a child into being a girl and a girl into a woman. Boys and Girls by Alice Munro highlights and emphasises the theme of initiation. The story depicts initiation as a rite of passage according to gender stereotypes and a loss of innocence. Conformity plays a vital role in determining the outcome of the narrators passage into adulthood. Throughout the story, the narrator is confronted with conflicting thoughts and ideas regarding her initiation into adulthood. Ultimately, she wishes to work with her father, and stay a tomboy, but through a conflict with her mother and grandmother, she comes to realise that she is expected, like the women before her, to adopt the gender stereotype which comes with her growing and passing into adulthood. Similarly, her younger brother, Laird, is also initiated, but into manhood, something he yearns for. In conclusion, Munros story illustrates the struggles between the dreams and reality of the rite of passage and initiation, based on gender stereotypes society has placed on men and women.

Analysing Corruption and Organised Crime in Russia

Analysing Corruption and Organised Crime in Russia Corruption as will be examined, was nothing new in the post-Soviet economy for its perceived rise and that of organised crime had their origins in the Soviet era. In the Soviet Union private enterprise on an individual or business basis had officially not been allowed from when the New Economic Policy was abandoned in the 1920s and with the forced collectivization of agriculture during the 1930s. Under the Stalinist State the economy was planned and commanded by the Communist Party via the Soviet Union’s state structure. In theory the Soviet State controlled every aspect of the Soviet economy. It set prices; it controlled industrial outputs, banking services and foreign exchange rates. However, in practice there was a flourishing black market in luxury goods and foreign exchange rates before the political and economic reforms started by Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1980s. His twin policies of Glasnost and Perestroika, political openness and economic restructuring were intended to prolong the Soviet Union. Instead the Soviet Union would collapse leaving its successor states working towards democracy and capitalism whilst facing up to the problem of increasing corruption and organised crime. The level of corruption if not organised crime during the Soviet era might not be too easy to establish exactly. The Soviet authorities after all kept the true state of the economy hidden from the West even if its citizens experienced hardships and shortages. The leading members of the politburo had been the only ones with a realistic view of the economy. The liberalisation of the economy in all parts of the former Soviet Union since 1991 have generally led to an increase of corruption and organised crime. Clampdowns on organised crime and corruption have often been half hearted when they have been carried out both during and after the Soviet era. Explanations for this rise in corruption and organised crime will now be described and examined. Some of these causes pre-date the collapse of the Soviet Union whilst others emerged later. Black markets existed prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union often bringing consumers goods that were unavailable in the state-run shops, goods that were sometimes exchanged instead of sold to avoid breaking the law. Hand in hand with the black markets went corruption and bribery. Black marketers frequently resorted to bribing communist party officials, the police and the KGB or they in turn extorted money off the black marketers. The KGB sometimes recruited some of the black marketers to inform on their rivals and their customers. The more the Soviet economy faltered the faster the black-market grew, providing people with goods not available in the shops. Those marketers that did not bribe officials often found their homes or businesses raided or got put in jail, those that paid up could go about their business undisturbed. The Soviet leadership started to have concerns about economic stagnation, organised crime and to a lesser extent corruption in the early 1980s but none of the m seemed to understand the extent of the economic malaise. The long years of stagnation continued until despite the rapid deaths of three general secretaries of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) between 1982-1985. Leonid Brezhnev during his time in charge had done nothing to halt economic decline and in fact worsened it by accelerating the arms race with the United States and invading Afghanistan. It has been estimated that as much as 50% of the Soviet Union’s annual budges was spent on defence or related products and projects. However, that was money that the Soviet Union no longer had to spare. His immediate successor Yuri Andropov started a campaign against bribery and corruption that petered out with his death in 1984. When Gorbachev replaced Konstantin Chernenko a year later he pledged to reform the Soviet Union. Instead his policies would promote its collapse and lead to increased corruption and organised crime in the sixteen successor states. The problem with Stalinist economic planning was that it â€Å"created and perpetuated a shortage economy motivated only by harsh orders from the centre.† It kept most of the people equally poor except for those that found ways around the system. By the 1980s the idea of abandoning the communist command economy in favour of capitalism and liberal democracy gained ground not only in the Soviet Union but also in Central and Eastern Europe. For the reformers could look at the neo-liberal experience of the Thatcher and Reagan administrations, perhaps the devastating social and economic effects in parts of Latin America would have been more relevant. There was of course the example of the New Economic Policy that had allowed the Soviet economy to recover from the ravages of civil war, an attractive example to communists that wanted to reform the system but also for the non-communists that wished to replace it. There was one group of pro-capitalist economists that hoped to bring in a market system to Russia, they were the ‘young reformers’. Yeger Gaider whose family was amongst the elites of the Soviet nomenklatura ironically enough headed the young reformers. They were just looking for somebody to carry out their plan s and not power for themselves and would eventually team up with Boris Yeltsin a highly effective (when healthy) populist politician with only a limited understanding of economics. Alongside Yeltsin, they had the dream of dismantling communism. However, the way in which communism was dismantled across the former Soviet Union would contribute greatly to the rise of organised crime alongside the already high levels of corruption. In the first years of Gorbachev’s rule his government attempted to preserve the Soviet political system whilst reforming its economic system, little realising that these reforms would fail and thus contribute to the rise of corruption and organised crime as well as the disintegration of the Soviet Union. He wanted to make the system worktop its full capacity without moving to a capitalist economy or inducing economic suffering. The government attempted to increase productivity by reducing alcohol consumption and the sickness that was often connected to it, but he did not run an anti corruption campaign immediately. Gorbachev would have banned vodka but feared the ban would be circumvented by organised crime gangs, plus the tax revenues that kept the Soviet government solvent. One man who had started Ananta-corruption campaign was Boris Yeltsin who was the Moscow party boss until his sudden dismissal by Gorbachev during November 1987.Gorbachev believed he had removed his great est rival but had in fact made a very basic political blunder, as Yeltsin was no longer controllable and determined to avenge his fall from power. By 1989 it became clear that the Soviet economic system was unsustainable or beyond reforming and Gorbachev introduced some capitalist measures. Those measures included allowing small private businesses to operate from August 1990 and a series of de-regulations and privatisations between October 1990 and July 1991. Economic reforms brought increased opportunities to organised criminals and budding capitalist entrepreneurs, a distinction in the former Soviet Union that is not always clear. The sudden creations of small businesses increased chances for investments and money laundering or even to takeover privatised companies. Decades of communist economic and political rule left a legacy that was difficult to shake off immediately in the post-Soviet era. Yeltsin and his contemporaries found it difficult to see the world from outside of a communist perspective. The communist legacy of patronage, privileges, corruption and perks would contribute to the rise of corruption and organised cr ime in the post-Soviet era. As the system started to collapse across the Soviet Union law and order began to decline with it thus allowing increased opportunities for organised crime and corruption as well as increased nationalist and ethnic tensions.   The political disintegration of the Soviet Union went hand in hand with its economic disintegration and declining levels of law and order in all the successor republics. The end of the Soviet Union was hastened by the failure of the communist coup in August 1991. The Baltic States had already broke away from the Soviet Union and was already on their way to capitalist economies. Russian president Boris Yeltsin seeming to stand for the twin transition from communist state to liberal democracy and planned socialist economy to neo-liberal capitalism although this is not exactly what happened. Contrary to Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin had believed that the breakup of the Soviet Union could be a positive rather than a disastrous event although many of his Russian compatriots might not have agreed with him. For the other former republics, it was a case of independence at last. Perhaps those that took advantage of the break up through organised crime or corruption would have agreed with h im. The Yeltsin government at first enthusiastically backed rapid and radical reforms, radical economics carried out by a group of advisors dubbed the ‘the young reformers’. Russia and the other former republics of the Soviet Union had very primitive banking and financial systems that presented apparently ideal opportunities for Russian and foreign investors. Those acting as go-betweens in business deals could make small fortunes by doing so. The transition to capitalism offered the prospect of making millions, it also led to the increase in organised crime and corruption as gangsters threatened investors, businesses and often fought each other. The Russian and other governments seemed incapable of monitoring, containing or preventing that rise. The Yeltsin government was hampered in its efforts to control and administer the regions let alone fight the rise in crime because the remaining regional governors were by and large communist nomenklatura and apparatchiks and unwilling to do as Moscow commanded. These bureaucrats forged links with industrialists in their region providing basis for ongoing and future corruption. The bitter power struggles between President and Parliament during the 1992-1993 period distracted them from trying to solve the country’s problems and allowed the regions greater autonomy and the increasing number of organised crime gangs free rein across much of Russia and the rest of the former Soviet Union. They also spent much time and effort trying to persuade the public the other side was more corrupt and had greater links to organised crime than they did. One deputy governor indicated the scale of corruption in the remoter parts of Siberia that to start â€Å"accompany you probably have to brib e forty bureaucrats.† Organised crime gangs used the decline in government control to organise protection rackets to fleece investors and small businesses. There was an alarming increase in violent crimes and murders as gangs competed for control of their victims and clients or punished those that would not pay for their dubious protection. The number of killings related to gang warfare escalated dramatically. Moscow and the newly renamed St Petersburg have been the centres of most of that gang warfare. Corruption was not merely confined to the Mafia gangs it also extended to the police, the armed forces and civil servants. In Russia traffic police were involved in robbing motorists also teaming up with local gangs to force motorists to hand over their cars, or to pay them fines for non-existent offences or face their cars being confiscated. Corruption and the buying and selling of anything and everything was so widespread that young female university students would aim to become hard currency call girls or the mistresses of oligarchs or wealthy businessmen, whilst jobless youths would advertise their services for contract killings. One ruthless organised crime gang even went as far as murdering car owners and disposing of their bodies to steal their cars. Organised crime and the number of crime gangs increased dramatically as the political elites spent more time arguing amongst each other rather than fighting crime and corruption. Nobody in the public or the media believed that Boris Yeltsin would succeed in rooting out organised crime and corruption, after all every single Soviet leader had promised to do the same since 1917. After all his only previous crack down on corruption and organised crime in Moscow had been stopped it its tracks by Gorbachev when he was sacked as the Moscow party boss. The official crime figures for 1992 give a strong indication of the deteriorating law and order situation. The number of murders had increased by 40%whilst there was an even larger increase in robbery up by 60%. The overall number of registered crimes, bearing in mind that many crimes remained unreported went up to 2.76 million. In fact, the contending elites accused each other of corruption to score points off each other whilst the public were not interested in their squabbles and the 3,000or so crime gangs carried on regardless. Of the newly private run business in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States those3,000 gangs were able to pocket perhaps as much as 40 % of the turnovers early as 1993. Corruption was never too far from the surface in the former Soviet Union. It should have not been a surprise therefore that corruption and organised crime would rise in the post-Soviet as they already headstrong foundations and connections to outside crime gangs. During the Soviet era if an individual knew or bribed the right officials they could get the best luxury items, property deals or their children into the finest schools or universities. So, nobody could doubt that there would be greater levels of corruption when the restraints of the Soviet system were removed. In fact, corruption dated back into the Imperial Russian past, were the civil service had been unsalaried but able to accept gifts or payments in kind. The CPSU may have claimed to be responsible for the leading role in society and the economy, some of its members took a leading role in the black market or for a small bribe get people things that would not normally be available. In Belarus the movement towards independence was given a new impetus byte desire to be rid of greedy and corrupt communist party leaders. The unravelling of the Soviet hegemony over Eastern Europe gave an opportunity for the more entrepreneurial members of the withdrawing Soviet army to make their fortunes. The pickings could be rich for the Soviet army had large areas of land and housing to sell. When Gorbachev made a deal with the West German government to sell Soviet military bases in the former East Germany back to them most of the best pickings had already gone. The Soviet defence minister Dmitrii Yazov happily joined in the schemes that led to the disappearance of the Soviet army assets without a trace. Yazov may have enjoyed making money for himself but he was wholeheartedly against political and economic reform. He would be one of the main leaders of the August 1991 coup. After all, under the Soviet system the higher an individual’s position within the party, the KGB o r the armed forces they could expect greater share of the perks and the spoils. Just how much money the corrupt communist party members made may not beknown exactly, much of the evidence was destroyed just before the final failed coup of August 1991. Those party members that did not get into trouble following the coup could find themselves in a good position to make money in the brave new post -Soviet world. That was because they already knew how to operate in corrupt systems and some already had links with organised crime. For many of the small traders that operated largely illegally during the Soviet era the only real difference between the past and the post-Soviet present was whom they paid for the privilege of staying in business. Now they had to pay organised crime gangs to stay in business and to stay alive rather than bribe communist party officials or members of the KGB, or if they were unlucky they would have to pay them all. Corruption and organised crime increased in the post-Soviet era, but it had great potential during the Soviet era and the right c onditions would fuel a massive expansion. For much of the former Soviet Union these conditions were present in the early 1990s. Petty crime was rumoured to be rife amongst civil servants and state employees, for instance in 1993 the Russian Interior Ministry recorded 13,000 such crimes, that was thought to be the tip of the iceberg. It was estimated that virtually all shops paid protection and perhaps four fifths of businesses and financial institutes did the same. The organised crime gangs had a virtual free reign on their prospective victims, as the number of untainted police was inadequate even if they could find any brave or foolish enough to testify. The more successful entrepreneurs could hire bodyguards but that was not an option for the smaller traders who had to pay up or face the consequences. In Russia neither the transition to democracy and the switch to capitalist economy has developed as the Russians and those in the rest of the world that were interested hoped or expected. These transitions unintentionally led to increased corruption and organised crime. Through a combination of the collapse of the archaic economic system, assets stripping by the Russians that brought utilities at cheap prices, government failings and last but no means least corruption. Russia was in a worse economic position than the Soviet Union had been, as were most of the former Soviet republics. Inward foreign investment during the 1990s did not make up for the vast sums that left Russia of between $100 billion and $150 billion made by the oligarchs that asset stripped Russia’s industries and infra-structure and does not include any of the profits made the organised crime gangs. Foreign investors, the more sensible ones at least were put off the possibility of investing in Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union by the high risk of their investment been ruined by having to pay bribes to officials and protection to crime gangs. It seems that the only people prospering in post-Soviet Russia are those that became nouveau riche by their investments or those that made their money less honestly through extortion or corruption. Poverty and unemployment that did not officially exist during the Soviet era increased alarmingly during the 1990s. Even if the poverty line is measured below a monthly income of less than $30 a month up to 40 million Russians appear to live in poverty. That is alarming for a country that has the largest part of the Soviet Union that had been a military superpower until1991. Economically Russia’s decline was remarkable for its severity, producing less than Belgium and barely a quarter more than Poland. In the immediate post-Soviet period the situation was more chaotic because all the former republics were still maintaining the old Soviet currency and printing money as if it was going out of fashion, adding to the inflationary consequences of ending price controls. The chaotic situation increased the ease in which organised crime gangs could operate in the former Soviet Union. Whilst the resulting hyperinflation (added to by the removal of price controls) meant that many more ordinary people had to find alternative methods of supplementing their incomes. Russia was not the slowest country to reform its economy or political institutions Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Belarus according to European Bank of Reconstruction and Development were amongst the least reformed and most poverty struck. In contrast the Baltic States of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia progressed well enough to be admitted in the European Union by 2004. The adoption of free market capitalism brought an end to queuing in empty shops and replaced it with full shops where most people could not afford to buy anything. Hence people were searching for legal or illegal means of boosting their incomes and thus more likely to become involved in corruption and bribery. Uneconomic factories were shut making millions unemployed. Under the Soviet system people had less money but there was better state provisions and prices were fixed so inflation was virtually non-existent. The Soviet system had given privileges to countless petty state workers and junior party members. They were known as apparatchiks, whilst high ranking officials and senior party members with better perks were known as nomenklatura. With the end of the Soviet system some of these apparatchiks and nomenklatura exchanged their privileges for money, those still in state employment that had remained honest now exchanged favours for bribes. Corruption increased during the post-Sovi et era simply out of economic necessity right across all the former Soviet Union as ordinary citizens and government officials found that they did not enough to live on. Throughout the former Soviet Union, the pace of economic liberalisation varied. By the middle of 1994 the Baltic States and Russia in terms of the total percentage of gross domestic product generated by the private sector of the economy were well ahead of the Asian republics, Belarus and Moldova. In Estonia and Latvia, it was 55%, in Russia and Lithuania50 % with Belarus, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan lagged far behind on only 15%. In post-Soviet Russia nomenklatura were better placed than most to survive the harsher economic climate particularly those that lived in regions such as Siberia found it harder to survive especially when state subsidies ended leaving food and fuel far more expensive than in the major cities. The collapse of communism cut off many of the remote industrial and mining areas from the central government leading to social and economic decay. Such neglect has allowed for the growth of organised crime and corruption as desperate people turn to drugs and alcohol. Drug and alcohol abuse leads to health problems or addiction. To counter some of th e incursions into those remote areas by crime gangs the Putin government once more restricted travel in to those areas. A factor that contributed to the rise of organised crime in the post-Soviet was the wide availability of weapons for organised crime gangs and individual gangsters or thugs to use. Weapons were often obtained from members of the armed forces. Military and naval personnel were increasingly eager to sell weapons to supplement their wages, assuming they had been paid on time. The Russian commanders are said to have done worse during the first Chechen war of 1994 -1996. They sold Grozny back to the rebels in August 1996 leading to the deaths of defenceless conscripts. Corruption within the Russian military seems to be endemic, which given its role in maintaining central government authority and internal security in some of the remoter regions of the Russian Federation certainly permitted and even encouraged organised crime to rise, for instance in Chechnya. During the second Chechen war that began in 1999 the local police observed the illicit trade between Russian soldiers and local blac k marketers. These soldiers would exchange boxes of ammunition for locally distilled vodka or locally grown cannabis with the tacit approval of their superior officers. Indeed, officers often accompanied their men when these exchanges took place. The black marketers then sell the ammunition to the Chechen fighters. Local police could intervene and arrest everybody, but they have either been told not to or bribed motto. The army was supposed to keep all the roads into Chechnya secure to prevent the rebels escaping or gaining supplies and money. However, the reporter Anna Politkovskaya was told â€Å"one person on foot must pay100 roubles; a light vehicle costs about 500-600 roubles†. Politkovskaya did not readily accept those claims until she successfully bribed the soldiers to get past the checkpoint. The greed and corruption of the army must have been counterproductive. They sold ammunition that was used by the Chechens and they allowed access to restricted areas to anybody who could have smuggled weapons in and people out. The corruption of the Russian armed forces in the area in and around Chechnya lowered the security and containment of Chechen fighters and contributed to the apparent ease in which rebels were able to take hostages in the Moscow theatre during October 2002. More horrifically the siege of a Beslan high school in September 2004 showed that the Russian military were incompetent as well as riddled with corruption. Gangsters did not always buy weapons; they could often steal weapons from poorly guarded or neglected military bases. Due to the Soviet Union having national service most of the organised crime gang members could already use weapons. Troops leaving the army could also consider employment as either bodyguard for the newly rich and the justifiably concerned business owners or joining the organised crime gangs themselves as thugs and assassins. Violent crime is probably not as prevalent as people in the West might believe, however crime gangs would have no qualms about settling accounts with intimidation, assault and murder. Some murders have shown that the crime gangs and contract killers are able to gain hold of sophisticated weapons such as rocket launchers to kill bodyguards as well as their bosses in St Petersburg. Gangs must be well connected as well as rich to acquire such weapons. The dramatic rise in the murder rate witnessed not only the deaths of politicians (three members of the Duma were shot dead in cold blood) but also businessmen and journalists. Business executives and more lowly bank employees could be and were at risk of being killed due tithe rise in corruption and organised crime. Not many gang members were afraid of being caught and convicted, for they were confident that even if the police did catch them that either the police or the courts could be persuaded to let them get away with it. In the period between 1992and 1995, the number of killed bank workers ranging from clerks to senior executives was 46. The most publicized killing was that of Pivanilide who the president of Rosbiznesbank had been. Kivelidi was poisoned in August 1995 for not complying with the demands of organised criminals. There are still a high number of deaths because of fighting between rival gangs still demonstrating that there are enough guns and money up for grabs to m ake the high risks of being killed seem worthwhile. Over 2,000 gang members are gunned down every year in gang wars in the Moscow region alone. Until the Putin presidency the situation in St Petersburg had been worse although Putin seems to want to clean up his home city. The difficulty and the danger of uncovering the true level of crimes being committed aided the rise in organised crime and corruption. With so many bureaucrats, police and politicians involved or thought to be involved in corruption much of the uncovering of crimes and evidence of corruption came from the press and journalists or even rarely independently minded politicians. For journalists it was dangerous to uncover and attempt to publish evidence and articles concerning organised crime gangs and the high levels of corruption. Considering the increasing control of the media by the state or by oligarchs whose own positions could be undermined by revelations of corruption or organised crime it has not always been easy for reporters to go public with evidence they have gathered. To illustrate the dangerous position journalists found themselves in, 36 were killed between January 1994and May 1995 throughout the former Soviet Union whilst doing their jobs and reporting on not only corrup tion and organised crime but also the conflict in Chechnya. The uncovering of evidence of the corruption and fraud within the Soviet army during its time in East Germany and before its departure appeared to be a major scope for the Murkowski Komsomolsk and its investigative journalist Dmitrii Kholod. For Kholod it proved one-story too far as a bomb blew up him and his office during October1994. Even television reporters and journalists were not immune from danger. Following his research into the corrupt or dishonest selling of television advertising Vladimir Listed was gunned down in March 1995before he could broadcast all his findings. At other times politicians, bureaucrats and business executives would inform or leak information about their rivals real or presumed links with organised crime and corruption for their own gain rather than in the public interest or to fight corruption itself. Whilst these bouts of accusations and counter accusations occupied the politicians and press attentions they occasionally removed the expendable politici ans and bureaucrats whilst leaving the level of overall corruption untouched. As noted below the Books affair would be used to force the resignations of some of the young reformers in 1999. Accusations of corruption would also be leaked to the press after an individual had lost the approval of either President Yeltsin or President Putin. The prime example of this were the accusations levelled against Boris Berezovskyafter he fell out with Putin, or more aptly when Putin regarded him as no longer useful to the Kremlin. Berezovsky is claimed to have stolen millions from his companies and state-run companies such as Aeroflot. All these events were from the early 1990s, so the Russian government had plenty of time to prove them or clear him. Berezovsky who went to exile in London has retaliated by campaigning against the Putin government’s increasing control of power. In Russia it appears that those involved in corruption or organised crime are relatively immune from arrest if they do not upset the Kremlin, or their punishment becomes politically expedient for the government. President Putin is arguably â€Å"searching for levers that will work †¦ to have in place a national authority that functions as normal governments do†. Corruption was a fact of life in the Soviet era and now seems even more endemic in the post-Soviet period; ordinary Soviet citizens were cynical about the financial honesty of their political masters and the higher-ranking communist party officials, a cynicism that continues with post-Soviet politicians and officials. Evidence of corruption and bribery would often be collected by the KGB and used if the individuals concerned fall out of favour senior party members, its successor still collects such information only now some its officers are more likely to sell sensitive information to the highest bidders. President Yeltsinonly renamed the KGB the FSB instead of abolishing it. He also retained control of the KGB records and evidence of the corruption they contained Timely uncovering of bribe taking and corruption have often been used to discredit rivals and justify the dismissal of ministers and officials. Therefore, presumably there is usually enough evidence to act against many of t hose involved in corruption or organised crime but not always the political will or judicial authority to do so. Many Russians believe that most if not all government ministers and officials are corrupt and susceptible to bribes. Officials are willing to risk public safety and even national security as well as their reputations for the sake of bribes. Allegations and counter allegations of corruption were used in the 1990s during the power struggle between President Yeltsin and hard-liners such as Rosko and Khasbulatov. Corruption both in the Soviet era and afterwards existed and increased because the majority of those accepting bribes or using their position for gain position or cash believed that they would not get caught. Even if they did get caught the rate of convictions were not that high. Soviet era clampdowns on corruption under Andropov and Gorbachev only caught small fry and the same could apply during the post-Soviet era. The only notable high ranking communist to be convicted for corruption was Yuri Churbanov in 1988. Churbanov’s father in law was the late Leonid Brezhnev, the one-time Soviet leader and General Secretar Analysing Corruption and Organised Crime in Russia Analysing Corruption and Organised Crime in Russia Corruption as will be examined, was nothing new in the post-Soviet economy for its perceived rise and that of organised crime had their origins in the Soviet era. In the Soviet Union private enterprise on an individual or business basis had officially not been allowed from when the New Economic Policy was abandoned in the 1920s and with the forced collectivization of agriculture during the 1930s. Under the Stalinist State the economy was planned and commanded by the Communist Party via the Soviet Union’s state structure. In theory the Soviet State controlled every aspect of the Soviet economy. It set prices; it controlled industrial outputs, banking services and foreign exchange rates. However, in practice there was a flourishing black market in luxury goods and foreign exchange rates before the political and economic reforms started by Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1980s. His twin policies of Glasnost and Perestroika, political openness and economic restructuring were intended to prolong the Soviet Union. Instead the Soviet Union would collapse leaving its successor states working towards democracy and capitalism whilst facing up to the problem of increasing corruption and organised crime. The level of corruption if not organised crime during the Soviet era might not be too easy to establish exactly. The Soviet authorities after all kept the true state of the economy hidden from the West even if its citizens experienced hardships and shortages. The leading members of the politburo had been the only ones with a realistic view of the economy. The liberalisation of the economy in all parts of the former Soviet Union since 1991 have generally led to an increase of corruption and organised crime. Clampdowns on organised crime and corruption have often been half hearted when they have been carried out both during and after the Soviet era. Explanations for this rise in corruption and organised crime will now be described and examined. Some of these causes pre-date the collapse of the Soviet Union whilst others emerged later. Black markets existed prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union often bringing consumers goods that were unavailable in the state-run shops, goods that were sometimes exchanged instead of sold to avoid breaking the law. Hand in hand with the black markets went corruption and bribery. Black marketers frequently resorted to bribing communist party officials, the police and the KGB or they in turn extorted money off the black marketers. The KGB sometimes recruited some of the black marketers to inform on their rivals and their customers. The more the Soviet economy faltered the faster the black-market grew, providing people with goods not available in the shops. Those marketers that did not bribe officials often found their homes or businesses raided or got put in jail, those that paid up could go about their business undisturbed. The Soviet leadership started to have concerns about economic stagnation, organised crime and to a lesser extent corruption in the early 1980s but none of the m seemed to understand the extent of the economic malaise. The long years of stagnation continued until despite the rapid deaths of three general secretaries of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) between 1982-1985. Leonid Brezhnev during his time in charge had done nothing to halt economic decline and in fact worsened it by accelerating the arms race with the United States and invading Afghanistan. It has been estimated that as much as 50% of the Soviet Union’s annual budges was spent on defence or related products and projects. However, that was money that the Soviet Union no longer had to spare. His immediate successor Yuri Andropov started a campaign against bribery and corruption that petered out with his death in 1984. When Gorbachev replaced Konstantin Chernenko a year later he pledged to reform the Soviet Union. Instead his policies would promote its collapse and lead to increased corruption and organised crime in the sixteen successor states. The problem with Stalinist economic planning was that it â€Å"created and perpetuated a shortage economy motivated only by harsh orders from the centre.† It kept most of the people equally poor except for those that found ways around the system. By the 1980s the idea of abandoning the communist command economy in favour of capitalism and liberal democracy gained ground not only in the Soviet Union but also in Central and Eastern Europe. For the reformers could look at the neo-liberal experience of the Thatcher and Reagan administrations, perhaps the devastating social and economic effects in parts of Latin America would have been more relevant. There was of course the example of the New Economic Policy that had allowed the Soviet economy to recover from the ravages of civil war, an attractive example to communists that wanted to reform the system but also for the non-communists that wished to replace it. There was one group of pro-capitalist economists that hoped to bring in a market system to Russia, they were the ‘young reformers’. Yeger Gaider whose family was amongst the elites of the Soviet nomenklatura ironically enough headed the young reformers. They were just looking for somebody to carry out their plan s and not power for themselves and would eventually team up with Boris Yeltsin a highly effective (when healthy) populist politician with only a limited understanding of economics. Alongside Yeltsin, they had the dream of dismantling communism. However, the way in which communism was dismantled across the former Soviet Union would contribute greatly to the rise of organised crime alongside the already high levels of corruption. In the first years of Gorbachev’s rule his government attempted to preserve the Soviet political system whilst reforming its economic system, little realising that these reforms would fail and thus contribute to the rise of corruption and organised crime as well as the disintegration of the Soviet Union. He wanted to make the system worktop its full capacity without moving to a capitalist economy or inducing economic suffering. The government attempted to increase productivity by reducing alcohol consumption and the sickness that was often connected to it, but he did not run an anti corruption campaign immediately. Gorbachev would have banned vodka but feared the ban would be circumvented by organised crime gangs, plus the tax revenues that kept the Soviet government solvent. One man who had started Ananta-corruption campaign was Boris Yeltsin who was the Moscow party boss until his sudden dismissal by Gorbachev during November 1987.Gorbachev believed he had removed his great est rival but had in fact made a very basic political blunder, as Yeltsin was no longer controllable and determined to avenge his fall from power. By 1989 it became clear that the Soviet economic system was unsustainable or beyond reforming and Gorbachev introduced some capitalist measures. Those measures included allowing small private businesses to operate from August 1990 and a series of de-regulations and privatisations between October 1990 and July 1991. Economic reforms brought increased opportunities to organised criminals and budding capitalist entrepreneurs, a distinction in the former Soviet Union that is not always clear. The sudden creations of small businesses increased chances for investments and money laundering or even to takeover privatised companies. Decades of communist economic and political rule left a legacy that was difficult to shake off immediately in the post-Soviet era. Yeltsin and his contemporaries found it difficult to see the world from outside of a communist perspective. The communist legacy of patronage, privileges, corruption and perks would contribute to the rise of corruption and organised cr ime in the post-Soviet era. As the system started to collapse across the Soviet Union law and order began to decline with it thus allowing increased opportunities for organised crime and corruption as well as increased nationalist and ethnic tensions.   The political disintegration of the Soviet Union went hand in hand with its economic disintegration and declining levels of law and order in all the successor republics. The end of the Soviet Union was hastened by the failure of the communist coup in August 1991. The Baltic States had already broke away from the Soviet Union and was already on their way to capitalist economies. Russian president Boris Yeltsin seeming to stand for the twin transition from communist state to liberal democracy and planned socialist economy to neo-liberal capitalism although this is not exactly what happened. Contrary to Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin had believed that the breakup of the Soviet Union could be a positive rather than a disastrous event although many of his Russian compatriots might not have agreed with him. For the other former republics, it was a case of independence at last. Perhaps those that took advantage of the break up through organised crime or corruption would have agreed with h im. The Yeltsin government at first enthusiastically backed rapid and radical reforms, radical economics carried out by a group of advisors dubbed the ‘the young reformers’. Russia and the other former republics of the Soviet Union had very primitive banking and financial systems that presented apparently ideal opportunities for Russian and foreign investors. Those acting as go-betweens in business deals could make small fortunes by doing so. The transition to capitalism offered the prospect of making millions, it also led to the increase in organised crime and corruption as gangsters threatened investors, businesses and often fought each other. The Russian and other governments seemed incapable of monitoring, containing or preventing that rise. The Yeltsin government was hampered in its efforts to control and administer the regions let alone fight the rise in crime because the remaining regional governors were by and large communist nomenklatura and apparatchiks and unwilling to do as Moscow commanded. These bureaucrats forged links with industrialists in their region providing basis for ongoing and future corruption. The bitter power struggles between President and Parliament during the 1992-1993 period distracted them from trying to solve the country’s problems and allowed the regions greater autonomy and the increasing number of organised crime gangs free rein across much of Russia and the rest of the former Soviet Union. They also spent much time and effort trying to persuade the public the other side was more corrupt and had greater links to organised crime than they did. One deputy governor indicated the scale of corruption in the remoter parts of Siberia that to start â€Å"accompany you probably have to brib e forty bureaucrats.† Organised crime gangs used the decline in government control to organise protection rackets to fleece investors and small businesses. There was an alarming increase in violent crimes and murders as gangs competed for control of their victims and clients or punished those that would not pay for their dubious protection. The number of killings related to gang warfare escalated dramatically. Moscow and the newly renamed St Petersburg have been the centres of most of that gang warfare. Corruption was not merely confined to the Mafia gangs it also extended to the police, the armed forces and civil servants. In Russia traffic police were involved in robbing motorists also teaming up with local gangs to force motorists to hand over their cars, or to pay them fines for non-existent offences or face their cars being confiscated. Corruption and the buying and selling of anything and everything was so widespread that young female university students would aim to become hard currency call girls or the mistresses of oligarchs or wealthy businessmen, whilst jobless youths would advertise their services for contract killings. One ruthless organised crime gang even went as far as murdering car owners and disposing of their bodies to steal their cars. Organised crime and the number of crime gangs increased dramatically as the political elites spent more time arguing amongst each other rather than fighting crime and corruption. Nobody in the public or the media believed that Boris Yeltsin would succeed in rooting out organised crime and corruption, after all every single Soviet leader had promised to do the same since 1917. After all his only previous crack down on corruption and organised crime in Moscow had been stopped it its tracks by Gorbachev when he was sacked as the Moscow party boss. The official crime figures for 1992 give a strong indication of the deteriorating law and order situation. The number of murders had increased by 40%whilst there was an even larger increase in robbery up by 60%. The overall number of registered crimes, bearing in mind that many crimes remained unreported went up to 2.76 million. In fact, the contending elites accused each other of corruption to score points off each other whilst the public were not interested in their squabbles and the 3,000or so crime gangs carried on regardless. Of the newly private run business in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States those3,000 gangs were able to pocket perhaps as much as 40 % of the turnovers early as 1993. Corruption was never too far from the surface in the former Soviet Union. It should have not been a surprise therefore that corruption and organised crime would rise in the post-Soviet as they already headstrong foundations and connections to outside crime gangs. During the Soviet era if an individual knew or bribed the right officials they could get the best luxury items, property deals or their children into the finest schools or universities. So, nobody could doubt that there would be greater levels of corruption when the restraints of the Soviet system were removed. In fact, corruption dated back into the Imperial Russian past, were the civil service had been unsalaried but able to accept gifts or payments in kind. The CPSU may have claimed to be responsible for the leading role in society and the economy, some of its members took a leading role in the black market or for a small bribe get people things that would not normally be available. In Belarus the movement towards independence was given a new impetus byte desire to be rid of greedy and corrupt communist party leaders. The unravelling of the Soviet hegemony over Eastern Europe gave an opportunity for the more entrepreneurial members of the withdrawing Soviet army to make their fortunes. The pickings could be rich for the Soviet army had large areas of land and housing to sell. When Gorbachev made a deal with the West German government to sell Soviet military bases in the former East Germany back to them most of the best pickings had already gone. The Soviet defence minister Dmitrii Yazov happily joined in the schemes that led to the disappearance of the Soviet army assets without a trace. Yazov may have enjoyed making money for himself but he was wholeheartedly against political and economic reform. He would be one of the main leaders of the August 1991 coup. After all, under the Soviet system the higher an individual’s position within the party, the KGB o r the armed forces they could expect greater share of the perks and the spoils. Just how much money the corrupt communist party members made may not beknown exactly, much of the evidence was destroyed just before the final failed coup of August 1991. Those party members that did not get into trouble following the coup could find themselves in a good position to make money in the brave new post -Soviet world. That was because they already knew how to operate in corrupt systems and some already had links with organised crime. For many of the small traders that operated largely illegally during the Soviet era the only real difference between the past and the post-Soviet present was whom they paid for the privilege of staying in business. Now they had to pay organised crime gangs to stay in business and to stay alive rather than bribe communist party officials or members of the KGB, or if they were unlucky they would have to pay them all. Corruption and organised crime increased in the post-Soviet era, but it had great potential during the Soviet era and the right c onditions would fuel a massive expansion. For much of the former Soviet Union these conditions were present in the early 1990s. Petty crime was rumoured to be rife amongst civil servants and state employees, for instance in 1993 the Russian Interior Ministry recorded 13,000 such crimes, that was thought to be the tip of the iceberg. It was estimated that virtually all shops paid protection and perhaps four fifths of businesses and financial institutes did the same. The organised crime gangs had a virtual free reign on their prospective victims, as the number of untainted police was inadequate even if they could find any brave or foolish enough to testify. The more successful entrepreneurs could hire bodyguards but that was not an option for the smaller traders who had to pay up or face the consequences. In Russia neither the transition to democracy and the switch to capitalist economy has developed as the Russians and those in the rest of the world that were interested hoped or expected. These transitions unintentionally led to increased corruption and organised crime. Through a combination of the collapse of the archaic economic system, assets stripping by the Russians that brought utilities at cheap prices, government failings and last but no means least corruption. Russia was in a worse economic position than the Soviet Union had been, as were most of the former Soviet republics. Inward foreign investment during the 1990s did not make up for the vast sums that left Russia of between $100 billion and $150 billion made by the oligarchs that asset stripped Russia’s industries and infra-structure and does not include any of the profits made the organised crime gangs. Foreign investors, the more sensible ones at least were put off the possibility of investing in Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union by the high risk of their investment been ruined by having to pay bribes to officials and protection to crime gangs. It seems that the only people prospering in post-Soviet Russia are those that became nouveau riche by their investments or those that made their money less honestly through extortion or corruption. Poverty and unemployment that did not officially exist during the Soviet era increased alarmingly during the 1990s. Even if the poverty line is measured below a monthly income of less than $30 a month up to 40 million Russians appear to live in poverty. That is alarming for a country that has the largest part of the Soviet Union that had been a military superpower until1991. Economically Russia’s decline was remarkable for its severity, producing less than Belgium and barely a quarter more than Poland. In the immediate post-Soviet period the situation was more chaotic because all the former republics were still maintaining the old Soviet currency and printing money as if it was going out of fashion, adding to the inflationary consequences of ending price controls. The chaotic situation increased the ease in which organised crime gangs could operate in the former Soviet Union. Whilst the resulting hyperinflation (added to by the removal of price controls) meant that many more ordinary people had to find alternative methods of supplementing their incomes. Russia was not the slowest country to reform its economy or political institutions Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Belarus according to European Bank of Reconstruction and Development were amongst the least reformed and most poverty struck. In contrast the Baltic States of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia progressed well enough to be admitted in the European Union by 2004. The adoption of free market capitalism brought an end to queuing in empty shops and replaced it with full shops where most people could not afford to buy anything. Hence people were searching for legal or illegal means of boosting their incomes and thus more likely to become involved in corruption and bribery. Uneconomic factories were shut making millions unemployed. Under the Soviet system people had less money but there was better state provisions and prices were fixed so inflation was virtually non-existent. The Soviet system had given privileges to countless petty state workers and junior party members. They were known as apparatchiks, whilst high ranking officials and senior party members with better perks were known as nomenklatura. With the end of the Soviet system some of these apparatchiks and nomenklatura exchanged their privileges for money, those still in state employment that had remained honest now exchanged favours for bribes. Corruption increased during the post-Sovi et era simply out of economic necessity right across all the former Soviet Union as ordinary citizens and government officials found that they did not enough to live on. Throughout the former Soviet Union, the pace of economic liberalisation varied. By the middle of 1994 the Baltic States and Russia in terms of the total percentage of gross domestic product generated by the private sector of the economy were well ahead of the Asian republics, Belarus and Moldova. In Estonia and Latvia, it was 55%, in Russia and Lithuania50 % with Belarus, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan lagged far behind on only 15%. In post-Soviet Russia nomenklatura were better placed than most to survive the harsher economic climate particularly those that lived in regions such as Siberia found it harder to survive especially when state subsidies ended leaving food and fuel far more expensive than in the major cities. The collapse of communism cut off many of the remote industrial and mining areas from the central government leading to social and economic decay. Such neglect has allowed for the growth of organised crime and corruption as desperate people turn to drugs and alcohol. Drug and alcohol abuse leads to health problems or addiction. To counter some of th e incursions into those remote areas by crime gangs the Putin government once more restricted travel in to those areas. A factor that contributed to the rise of organised crime in the post-Soviet was the wide availability of weapons for organised crime gangs and individual gangsters or thugs to use. Weapons were often obtained from members of the armed forces. Military and naval personnel were increasingly eager to sell weapons to supplement their wages, assuming they had been paid on time. The Russian commanders are said to have done worse during the first Chechen war of 1994 -1996. They sold Grozny back to the rebels in August 1996 leading to the deaths of defenceless conscripts. Corruption within the Russian military seems to be endemic, which given its role in maintaining central government authority and internal security in some of the remoter regions of the Russian Federation certainly permitted and even encouraged organised crime to rise, for instance in Chechnya. During the second Chechen war that began in 1999 the local police observed the illicit trade between Russian soldiers and local blac k marketers. These soldiers would exchange boxes of ammunition for locally distilled vodka or locally grown cannabis with the tacit approval of their superior officers. Indeed, officers often accompanied their men when these exchanges took place. The black marketers then sell the ammunition to the Chechen fighters. Local police could intervene and arrest everybody, but they have either been told not to or bribed motto. The army was supposed to keep all the roads into Chechnya secure to prevent the rebels escaping or gaining supplies and money. However, the reporter Anna Politkovskaya was told â€Å"one person on foot must pay100 roubles; a light vehicle costs about 500-600 roubles†. Politkovskaya did not readily accept those claims until she successfully bribed the soldiers to get past the checkpoint. The greed and corruption of the army must have been counterproductive. They sold ammunition that was used by the Chechens and they allowed access to restricted areas to anybody who could have smuggled weapons in and people out. The corruption of the Russian armed forces in the area in and around Chechnya lowered the security and containment of Chechen fighters and contributed to the apparent ease in which rebels were able to take hostages in the Moscow theatre during October 2002. More horrifically the siege of a Beslan high school in September 2004 showed that the Russian military were incompetent as well as riddled with corruption. Gangsters did not always buy weapons; they could often steal weapons from poorly guarded or neglected military bases. Due to the Soviet Union having national service most of the organised crime gang members could already use weapons. Troops leaving the army could also consider employment as either bodyguard for the newly rich and the justifiably concerned business owners or joining the organised crime gangs themselves as thugs and assassins. Violent crime is probably not as prevalent as people in the West might believe, however crime gangs would have no qualms about settling accounts with intimidation, assault and murder. Some murders have shown that the crime gangs and contract killers are able to gain hold of sophisticated weapons such as rocket launchers to kill bodyguards as well as their bosses in St Petersburg. Gangs must be well connected as well as rich to acquire such weapons. The dramatic rise in the murder rate witnessed not only the deaths of politicians (three members of the Duma were shot dead in cold blood) but also businessmen and journalists. Business executives and more lowly bank employees could be and were at risk of being killed due tithe rise in corruption and organised crime. Not many gang members were afraid of being caught and convicted, for they were confident that even if the police did catch them that either the police or the courts could be persuaded to let them get away with it. In the period between 1992and 1995, the number of killed bank workers ranging from clerks to senior executives was 46. The most publicized killing was that of Pivanilide who the president of Rosbiznesbank had been. Kivelidi was poisoned in August 1995 for not complying with the demands of organised criminals. There are still a high number of deaths because of fighting between rival gangs still demonstrating that there are enough guns and money up for grabs to m ake the high risks of being killed seem worthwhile. Over 2,000 gang members are gunned down every year in gang wars in the Moscow region alone. Until the Putin presidency the situation in St Petersburg had been worse although Putin seems to want to clean up his home city. The difficulty and the danger of uncovering the true level of crimes being committed aided the rise in organised crime and corruption. With so many bureaucrats, police and politicians involved or thought to be involved in corruption much of the uncovering of crimes and evidence of corruption came from the press and journalists or even rarely independently minded politicians. For journalists it was dangerous to uncover and attempt to publish evidence and articles concerning organised crime gangs and the high levels of corruption. Considering the increasing control of the media by the state or by oligarchs whose own positions could be undermined by revelations of corruption or organised crime it has not always been easy for reporters to go public with evidence they have gathered. To illustrate the dangerous position journalists found themselves in, 36 were killed between January 1994and May 1995 throughout the former Soviet Union whilst doing their jobs and reporting on not only corrup tion and organised crime but also the conflict in Chechnya. The uncovering of evidence of the corruption and fraud within the Soviet army during its time in East Germany and before its departure appeared to be a major scope for the Murkowski Komsomolsk and its investigative journalist Dmitrii Kholod. For Kholod it proved one-story too far as a bomb blew up him and his office during October1994. Even television reporters and journalists were not immune from danger. Following his research into the corrupt or dishonest selling of television advertising Vladimir Listed was gunned down in March 1995before he could broadcast all his findings. At other times politicians, bureaucrats and business executives would inform or leak information about their rivals real or presumed links with organised crime and corruption for their own gain rather than in the public interest or to fight corruption itself. Whilst these bouts of accusations and counter accusations occupied the politicians and press attentions they occasionally removed the expendable politici ans and bureaucrats whilst leaving the level of overall corruption untouched. As noted below the Books affair would be used to force the resignations of some of the young reformers in 1999. Accusations of corruption would also be leaked to the press after an individual had lost the approval of either President Yeltsin or President Putin. The prime example of this were the accusations levelled against Boris Berezovskyafter he fell out with Putin, or more aptly when Putin regarded him as no longer useful to the Kremlin. Berezovsky is claimed to have stolen millions from his companies and state-run companies such as Aeroflot. All these events were from the early 1990s, so the Russian government had plenty of time to prove them or clear him. Berezovsky who went to exile in London has retaliated by campaigning against the Putin government’s increasing control of power. In Russia it appears that those involved in corruption or organised crime are relatively immune from arrest if they do not upset the Kremlin, or their punishment becomes politically expedient for the government. President Putin is arguably â€Å"searching for levers that will work †¦ to have in place a national authority that functions as normal governments do†. Corruption was a fact of life in the Soviet era and now seems even more endemic in the post-Soviet period; ordinary Soviet citizens were cynical about the financial honesty of their political masters and the higher-ranking communist party officials, a cynicism that continues with post-Soviet politicians and officials. Evidence of corruption and bribery would often be collected by the KGB and used if the individuals concerned fall out of favour senior party members, its successor still collects such information only now some its officers are more likely to sell sensitive information to the highest bidders. President Yeltsinonly renamed the KGB the FSB instead of abolishing it. He also retained control of the KGB records and evidence of the corruption they contained Timely uncovering of bribe taking and corruption have often been used to discredit rivals and justify the dismissal of ministers and officials. Therefore, presumably there is usually enough evidence to act against many of t hose involved in corruption or organised crime but not always the political will or judicial authority to do so. Many Russians believe that most if not all government ministers and officials are corrupt and susceptible to bribes. Officials are willing to risk public safety and even national security as well as their reputations for the sake of bribes. Allegations and counter allegations of corruption were used in the 1990s during the power struggle between President Yeltsin and hard-liners such as Rosko and Khasbulatov. Corruption both in the Soviet era and afterwards existed and increased because the majority of those accepting bribes or using their position for gain position or cash believed that they would not get caught. Even if they did get caught the rate of convictions were not that high. Soviet era clampdowns on corruption under Andropov and Gorbachev only caught small fry and the same could apply during the post-Soviet era. The only notable high ranking communist to be convicted for corruption was Yuri Churbanov in 1988. Churbanov’s father in law was the late Leonid Brezhnev, the one-time Soviet leader and General Secretar