Western capitalists are seeking to cash in on the old cliche about the former Soviet Union that no one in Russia ever smiled.

Media-Service, a branch of the Video International advertising company, reports that foreign toothpaste and hygiene product companies are advertising heavily in Russia. "Four or five years ago, there wasn't a single toothpaste ad on television. Now you see them on every channel," says one advertising executive. And that's what they call progress.