Yes to write off Russia as a failure is plain gross.
Ukraine hasn't fared very well, it's still totalitarian. But conditions in Russia is improving all the time, it is aswell one of the growing markets in the world and it starts to show for the common people there aswell.
Most of the other central-european countries are soon to join the European Union and conditions are improving there aswell. But in some of these countries (Read Polen (What's the english name for the country where Polish people live? Is it Polen? Will have to google it later!)) where there is a large ineffecient agricultural sector things can still get worse before it turns..
EDIT:
It's somewhat irritating when people (read Tbontob
) writes Posts when I'm doing it and then Posts before I've finished my Posts.
Thereby making me miss their post as I (wrongly) assume that I've read all that is before my post.
Will have to write faster in the future!
[ May 15, 2003, 21:02: Message edited by: Ruatha ]