Why this blog
May 8, 2001
I have been working for several months on the privatisations of the 1990s. And I keep finding the same names, over and over again: former Soviet officials, factory directors, local administrators who had a reputation for integrity.
Many have changed their language. They no longer speak of the Party. They speak of investment, markets, modernisation. The vocabulary has shifted, but the men have stayed. They simply understood, faster than others, how to convert their former power into dividends.
I am not saying nothing has changed in Estonia. Many things have genuinely changed. But these men have managed to hold their ground with an agility that deserves closer attention.
I am beginning to publish the organisational charts. I want everyone to see the connections. I want the names to come out of the safes.