An early phase in the privatisation of the Russian Ministry of Communications is to be completed by the end of this year, with MiRospechat, a state-owned periodicals distribution company, to become a joint stock company by December 1992. At the beginning of 1993 the privatisation of telephone, broadcast media and data communication systems (telegraph, telex and similar services) will begin. In the Russian context, privatisation is means the transition from state department to a company with collective owners. It does not mean, for example, that foreign companies will be able to buy major stakes in the Russian telephone system or buy part of it outright. A full 70% of the shares in the new companies will remain with the Communications Ministry or be offered to its employees. The other 30% will be sold to the general public. According to the Minister Boris Butenko, traditional mail and parcel services will remain under state control.
