ABSTRACT
The struggle for political power and authority in Russia is based on dynamics surprisingly similar to those in place during the height of Soviet control-a tentative balance has been struck between various sectors and interest groups, each defined by its own economic and geographic affiliations. This chapter opens with a detailed examination of Russia present telecommunications infrastructure, including a brief discussion of the Soviet period and its impact on the present infrastructure. Sustainable development, especially in the Russian case, therefore cannot mean a single plan, or a central focus on how development is to proceed. Many of the present difficulties faced by the participants in the telecommunications sector are due to the market inefficiencies that generally characterize state ownership of a telecommunications provider.
