BEFORE there was currency, human beings traded commodities – say, a basket of apples for five cartons of eggs. During hard times, bartering sometimes returns. According to The New York Times, barter ads have recently begun surfacing in Russian newspapers. One recently offered "2,500,000 rubles' worth of premium underwear for any automobile". In the 1990s in Russia, bartering accounted for 50 to 75 percent of sales at some companies. Statistics show that bartering currently accounts for 3 to 4 percent of all sales. Economics professor Vladimir Popov told The Times that Russians find bartering appealing because they hate to cut prices.