In Khabarovsk, we didn't have to go far. In fact, we didn't even have to leave our apartment. Larisa Fedotova, our gracious and understanding host, is a driven, hard-working 25-year-old Russian woman. She represents a growing minority of young Russians who have the opportunity to work for one of the many Western companies now taking hold in Russia. Each day she goes off to fight one of Khabarovsk's fiercest battles, the chewing gum war.

Late this evening Lisa and I took a short walk up the street to the Corona Bar, which can only be described as a local mafia watering hole. The word mafia in Russia is thrown around pretty loosely, but then again, it's probably not without good reason. Every city has its share of burly, well-dressed Russian men who hang around in bars and restaurants talking "business" in serious, hushed tones. Their carefully groomed look is unmistakable and remarkably consistent from town to town. Closely-cropped hair, fashionable European clothes - some of the younger men prefer Nike or Adidas sweatsuits - and whenever possible carrying the ultimate power symbol, a cellular phone.

With MTV blasting on the TV and the surrounding tables occupied with the aforementioned young men playing cards, we dined on sliced-hot-dog-and-pickle pizzas. Sounds weird, but it was actually kind of tasty. Or maybe we were just really hungry.