The sudden and very visible wealth of the few bred resentment among the masses in Russia and many of its former satellites. "For every crooked Russian oligarch with a second home in London or Cannes, or enthusiastic young Polish businessman with a BMW and a cellphone, there were millions of disgruntled pensioners and laid-off workers for whom the transition to capitalism was at best an ambiguous benefit" historian Tony Judt wrote in Postwar: The History of Europe Since 1945. Full Article at Vancouver Sun