Ironically, the recent attack against the United States offers Russia an opportunity to join the West.

The IMF released its mid-year report on the Russian Federation in July 2001. It recommends a new protectionism modeled on the lines of the old (failed) African policy of import substitution that was prevalent in the 1960s and 1970s.

The International Monetary Fund is trying to set up a venture that would warn of impending financial crises in developing countries, which would give both itself and other international lenders time to deal with problems in their early stages. But the IMF has no incentives to enforce the truth, even for its own policy objectives.

Given the IMF's assessment of Russia's current favorable macroeconomic environment (strong reserves, balanced budget, stable currency), the IMF states that the time is ripe to make progress on such structural and institutional reforms as creating a real banking sector and further reduce arrears. What's lacking in the IMF Outlook?