Article: In Russia, capitalism booms and busts Collapse of MMM pyramid scheme reveals dangers in postcommunist culture

MOSCOW -- With last week's collapse of the MMM Co., Russia's largest mutual fund, the country has decisively entered the era of Early Capitalism, replete with both boom and bust.

MMM, it turns out, was a pure "pyramid scheme," paying old customers dividends from the revenue of new customers' investments. Those who got in early and pulled out in time, made big profits; those who stayed in too long, lost everything. Two days ago, MMM's 10 million shareholders lost nearly everything. From February until last week, the price of an MMM share skyrocketed from $1 to $50. Then, on Friday, after panic-selling took hold and the pyramid collapsed, its price nosedived to just under 50 cents.

Such ...

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