Carolynne Wheeler
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/ 17 August 2004

Russia’s poor cut adrift

After 40 years working for the Soviet Union’s Interior Ministry, Ina Ilyina was naturally suspicious of what democracy would bring. But, like most people, she held on through the turmoil and trusted that better times were ahead. Now, more than 10 years later, with Russia poised to dismantle one of the signature schemes of the communist era, she speaks bitterly about her country’s leaders.