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In the Communist-era Soviet Union, consumers famously lined up to buy eggs and meat. Now, in capitalist Russia, they've gone off-line -- clamoring for cell phones. In 2003, 36 million citizens owned mobile phones, twice as many as the year before.

Many appear to be calling their stockbrokers. Local shares have soared 66 percent since January 2003, bolstered by strong oil prices and relative political calm. The benchmark Russian Trading System index has more than quadrupled since the start of 2001, while Russia's overall market capitalization has surged from $70 billion to $201 billion, with free float growing from $12 billion to $40 billion. Russian Eurobonds have also delivered fat profits, and a domestic corporate bond market has sprung up out of nowhere in the past two years. Since 2001, as measured by Morgan Stanley Capital International, Russia's stock market has posted...