Please, say it ain't so. Can it really be that Sergei Mavrodi, the man whose MMM pyramid scheme bilked so much money from investors that he was able to promise a $10 million giveaway for an election campaign, has been voted into power?


Arguably, this is the worst sign to date that Russia will not be getting a democracy for a very long time to come. Even when tanks were shelling the Parliament into submission last October, supporters of democracy who felt that Yeltsin was making a mistake could take refuge in the thought that it was Yeltsin's mistake, not Russia's.


But Mavrodi is different. His election amounts to a cynical attack on the ideals and hopes of democracy -- and it comes straight from average Russians.


Mavrodi, who was released from jail pending trial just three weeks ago, won the election largely on the promise to spend $10 million of his ill-gotten gains on improvements in the area. He openly admitted that the reason he wanted to be elected to the State Duma was so that he could gain immunity from prosecution. The cynicism of these gestures is beyond comment.


The turnout for Sunday's vote in Khimki was minuscule, barely the 25 percent necessary to validate the election. And of those who voted only 27 percent supported Mavrodi, according to preliminary results. It has been reported that about 24 percent of the district's total electorate hold MMM shares. Conclusion: The vote reflected little more than the wishes of people who hope for a government bailout of MMM turning out for a candidate who was trying to exploit legislative immunity.


There is no need for laws to prohibit charlatans such as Mavrodi from running for office. Democracy is predicated on the idea that the voters will weed out these people. But Khimki, at least, has plainly decided to take the quick, easy money. Never mind that all of Mavrodi's "earnings" came straight from the pockets of the workers and pensioners who now defend him so vigorously.


Mavrodi will now take his seat in the State Duma, adding his voice to debate on issues of national importance, such as how to finance the budget or police the financial markets. But what kind of commitment does this man have to bringing some kind of order to Russia? Few people have made so much personal gain out of the lack of regulation and oversight in this country.


Or perhaps he will not go to the Duma at all and the people of Khimki will be able to watch and count how many days Mavrodi's seat stands empty, while their hero sits at the MMM headquarters reaping the profits of Russia's chaos.