(FORTUNE Magazine) – Despite his threefold increase in the price of essential food, Mikhail Gorbachev may have more staying power than anybody thought possible -- and the same may be said of the entrepreneurial creativity of the Soviet citizenry. The latest hustle involves burned-out light bulbs, which are selling briskly at Moscow's open-air Tishinsky market at 50 kopeks each, about 35 cents at the official rate. Buyers take them to work, where they swap them for working bulbs that they take home. Light bulbs are not available in stores. Meanwhile, in provincial Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia, authorities report a surge in sales of the national flag. A pocket of support for Gorbachev? Nyet. Local stores have run out of fabric, and the flags, at a subsidized 2.9 rubles each ($1.80), are a fine substitute material for patching purses and making bright red dresses.