As the new Russian state struggles with the transition to a market economy, the need for radical monetary reform becomes increasingly urgent. The choice of reform is crucial, for it will largely determine Russia's future economic performance. In order to break free of the lingering effects of Soviet central planning, the new Russian state needs a stable, convertible currency. Steve H. Hanke, Lars Jonung and Kurt Schuler propose that Russia establishes a currency board which would issue a Russian currency fully convertible with international currency, backed 100 per cent by international bonds. The international community would aid in establishing the currency board by providing the initial reserves. Early supplies of this new Russian currency would be distributed free to Russian citizens. The authors give detailed explanations of how the currency board could be established and how it would work.

Examines allegations that corrupt Russian groups & individuals have infiltrated Western fin'l. institutions. Witnesses: Vladimir Brovkin & Louise Shelley, Amer. Univ. Transnat. Crime & Corrupt. Ctr.; Arnaud deBorchgrave, Global Organized Crime Project, CSIS; Fritz Ermarth, former CIA Russian Analyst; Richard Palmer, former CIA Station Chief; Paul Saunders, Nixon Center; Yuri Shvets, former KGB agent; Lawrence Summers, Dept. of the Treasury; Anne Williamson, author; R. James Woolsey, former Dir., CIA; Thomas Renyi, Bank of NY; James Robinson, DoJ; Yuri Shchekochikhin, Member, Russian Duma; Anne Vitale, Rep. Bank of NY; & Karon von Gerhke-Thompson, 1st Columbia Co.

Persistent episodes of global financial crises have placed the existing system of international monetary and financial governance under stress. The resulting economic turmoil provides a focal point for rethinking the norms and institutions of global financial architecture and the policy options of public and private authorities at national, regional and transnational levels. This volume moves beyond analysis of the causes and consequences of recent financial crises and concentrates on issues of policy. Written by distinguished scholars, it focuses on the tension between global market structures and national policy imperatives. Accessible to both specialists and general readers, the analysis is coherent across a broad range of theoretical and empirical cases. Offering a series of reasoned policy responses to financial integration and crises, the volume grapples directly with the institutional and often-neglected normative dimensions of international financial architecture. The volume thus constitutes required reading for scholars and policy-makers.

Perspectives on the strategies of imperial rule pursued by rulers, officials, scholars, and subjects of the Russian empire. This book explores the connections between Russia's expansion over vast territories occupied by people of many ethnicities, religions, and political experiences and the evolution of imperial administration and vision.