One of Russia’s mot popular Soviet Holdovers is the subsidy. Russians love them; economic reformers, of course, hate them. They cost billions of dollars a year and distort the market. But no Russian leader has ever had the gust to take them away. As of Jan. 1, 2005, President Vladimir Putin’s federal government dropped its support of subsidized and leave local governments to fund them. The Kremlin is also considering allowing the eviction of homeowners who have fallen more than six months behind on housing-maintenance fees, privatizing the subsidized electricity monopoly, and increasing real-estate-transaction taxes.