Putin pushes privatization...

...perhaps. At least he's making the right noises, according to this AP article (via BusinessWeek). It seems he is now willing to call it a day on the paroxysm of corporate prosecutions that have been convulsing the Russian business world for the past couple years.

If he's serious, this would be a positive development. As the Cranky Economist has noted before, there were plenty of problems with the way Soviet-era industries were privatized in the early and mid 1990s, and there was more than enough criminality to go around. At the same time, I'm not sure I see what's to be gained by going back and trying to prosecute now crimes the government was happy to abet then. Of all of the things that can and should be done to reform Russia's, er, problematic business climate, I'm not convinced this Spitzer-esque indicting spree was the best option. Could it be Putin has finally realized this?

As an optimist, I'd like to think so. But before you direct me to the bridge link, I'll allow for another motive. By now, Putin has been able to indict every oligarch who would be willing and able to threaten his political power -- Mikhail Khodorkovsky of Yukos is the most prominent example. With no other political scalps to hunt down, Putin can certainly afford now to hang up the knife. And win the plaudits of naive young business and economics bloggers while he's at it.