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Soros on Russia Donation: 'Too Much, Too Quickly'

George Soros, the billionaire donor to Russian social and cultural institutions, has said he pumped too much money into Russia too quickly, and that the directors of his Moscow educational foundation had been "inadequate to the task." In an interview with Izvestia published Thursday, Soros said the administrative and executive directors of his "Cultural Initiative" foundation had allowed $14 million to be deposited into a Russian bank which was "inadequate" for the sum. In a telephone interview from London, Soros spokeswoman Frances Abouzeid would not name the Russian bank, saying, "It may be perfectly fine for people with smaller transactions." The Hungarian-born American philanthropist, famed for his financial prowess, announced in March that he was expanding the education reform project from the $5 million it had spent in 1993 to a "mega project" that would spend $250 million over five years.

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