“I have been having an interesting Usenet conversation on the subject of economic relations between Finland and Russia in the postwar period. The facts almost everyone agrees on are: Finland started by paying Russia a large sum in ‘reparations.’ Thereafter trade was conducted as barter, with an accounting system to keep track of which country owed how much to which. Russians provided Finns with raw materials, especially oil, at a price said to be somewhat below the current world price. Finns provided Russians with a variety of manufactured items — it isn’t clear how the prices were determined. No money was actually supposed to change hands. At the end of the period, when the Soviet Union collapsed, it turned out that the Soviets owed quite a lot to the Finns; Russia has now paid off the debt.” (08/17/08)