Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 24, 1995 TAG: 9511240048
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: CURRENT EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ADRIANNE BEE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
She is one of several Americans helping Russia draft laws to support a free-market economy in the former communist nation. For almost two years, she has worked in Moscow as part of a mission financed by the United States Agency for International Development.
A team of Russian and American lawyers and accountants is working toward a time when Russia will have financial regulations that will guarantee its citizens can buy stock and "know they really have it when they do." A time when clients who invest money in Russian companies will not have to fear someone will "just erase" the companies one day. A time when there will be better health care and other regulations protecting workers.
"We have American legal experts working as advisers, with the Russian lawyers primarily doing the writing of the laws," said Howard who along with her co-workers then contact foreign experts from other countries to get comments on the draft laws, "so that the Russian government is getting the full benefit of opinions from a variety of societies." Once a final draft is available, the Russian lawyers present the legislation to the Duma, Russia's parliament, for approval.
Howard compares today's Russia to "Chicago in the '20s with Mafia problems and tough times." Having grown up with the American fear of Russia as a military power, Howard was surprised to see Russia as a disorganized, dirty and poor country. "It blew me away," she said.
Some American "luxuries," however, are considered basic staples of life in Moscow. The ballet and symphony are accessible to the average Russian. It costs about $5 to see a ballet.
"You can really see the depth of their feeling when you watch them sing, dance or even cook," said Howard, who spoke of being able to see "the Russian soul" in the faces of her Moscow neighbors and friends.
Although some Muscovites have taken longer to warm up to newcomers than Howard was used to in America, she has found the people of Russia are not necessarily cold and unfriendly.
"They have been ruled by communism for the last 45 years, used to thinking their neighbor might be a spy and not knowing who to trust," Howard said. "They wait you out." Howard has grown accustomed to this and stopped fearing that Russians around her "just don't like you."
"Now that the system is changing, though, many people are falling through the cracks," Howard said, such as the 9-year-old child she helped bring to the United States for medical care.
The nation's move toward democracy and a free-market system, however, are "on the line," according to Howard.
The December elections will tell if communism comes back into power and if Howard's work to revolutionize the country's economic system "will go down the drain."
If democracy survives and Russia's economy evolves, the nation will face the tough issue of enforcing the laws she is helping to draft.
by CNB