Who will build the roads if not the government? As it turns out, even criminals will, if they need to.

The public- and profit-minded entrepreneurs of the black market in Belarussia have taken it upon themselves to improve business by upgrading their transportation routes. Smugglers adopted a gravel road from Minsk to Moscow, raised the road, widened it, and added more turning points to increase access for their heavy goods trucks (fruit weighs a lot). The secret project was quickly rewarded with heightened traffic and an eventual government takeover, complete with customs.

If black market businesses can successfully build up a road under the table, imagine what "legitimate" entrepreneurs would build out in the open.

The Moscow Times has the full story: