Maybe We Won Hearts and Minds After All

By Janice Castro

In Moscow they say you can always tell where the Vietnamese workers live because those are the buildings where the taxis line up. Hard-strapped Russians can't afford to take cabs. The collapse of the Soviet Union has unleashed a surprising entrepreneurial streak in the more than 32,000 skilled Vietnamese laborers "stranded" there. More than 4,000 Vietnamese residents of Moscow now boast net worths of more than $100,000. Some are investing their earnings in lavish houses and businesses back home. A Vietnamese commercial center has opened in town to provide office space and services for companies dealing in everything from rice and caviar to fashions. Quips a thriving entrepreneur: "Doing business in Russia now is very easy because the Russians know nothing about capitalism."