Starting out from the fact that privatisation is a world trend, the study discusses the theoretical basic elements and functions of privatisation. The author compares the different privatisation practices of the various West European countries and stresses that the East European privatisation starting out from a completely different basis, should be considered to be different. He underlines the sources of conflicts involved and reviews the privatisation practice of each East European country. He concludes that privatisation in East Europe is not guided by economic rationality rather it serves the redistribution of power.