GOST ??

Does anyone know what the legal status of the Russian cypher
"GOST" is ?  Is it public domain, patented, proprietary or what ?  It
looks like it would be more efficient than DES when implemented on a
microprocessor or microcontroller.
 
	Also the DDJ article mentioned that like DES, there are good and
bad S-boxes for GOST.  Does anyone know how to choose a strong S-box for
GOST ?
 
	Jim Prickett