ANDREI KOZLOV First Deputy Chmn., Russian Central Bank In 1992, Russia's economy was in chaos. Inflation was 2,000%. Industrial output was falling. Trust in Boris N. Yeltsin's radical reformers was nil. But in the bowels of the Central Bank of Russia, Andrei A. Kozlov, 32, saw a way out. A staffer in the securities department, he heard a group of American bankers, including then New York Federal Reserve Bank President Gerald E. Corrigan, describe how the U.S. government finances its operations by borrowing money on capital markets. Kozlov vowed to develop Russia's own government securities program. Says Kozlov: ''The attitude of the majority of higher-level government officials was, 'Let these young guys play with their toys.''' Five years later, Kozlov, is First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank, and his ''toys'' are bringing billions of dollars to the Russian budget. Using Corrigan's advice, he created Russia's most liquid, clean, and efficient securities market. Now, Russian and foreign investors feel confident enough to put over $50 billion in Russian Treasury bonds. Russia qualified for an international rating in September, 1996. Since then, Russians have sold more than $6.5 billion in Eurobonds. Says David Boren, Salomon Brothers' emerging- markets research president: ''Kozlov was there early, he's going to stay around a long time, and he's clean.'' By Patricia Kranz in Moscow Return to main story

Updated Oct. 16, 1997 by bwwebmaster
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