An article by Michael Ellman entitled 'The Russian economy under El'tsin'
was published in Europe-Asia Studies for December (vol 52 no.8). The conclusion
is as follows:
During the El'tsin period Russia experienced major economic changes.
The initial hopes of Russian reformers and their international backers
were not realised. The Russian economic system did not change into a civilized
market economy. Instead, it mutated into a 'market economy with Russian
characteristics'. Important aspects of this system were kleptocracy, criminalisation,
subsistence agriculture, non-payment and barter, and reciprocity. Nor did
Russia achieve substantial and sutained economic growth.Instead it experienced
a deep depression, followed by an upswing in the last El'tsin year caused
partly by a currency depreciation which initially led to a further sharp
fall in the real incomes of the population. As a result of the depression,
the eternal problem of Russia's economic backwardness has intensified.
There were also important social changes, many of them adverse. Some existing
social problems, such as high mortality and alcoholism, worsened. There
was an increase in poverty and inequality. There was a decline in the provision
of public goods such as order and education. The morbidity, smoking and
narcotics situations worsened. Entirely new social problems emerged, such
as child malnutrition, unwanted unpaid (or partially paid) leave, delayed
wage (and pension and unemployment benefit) payments, and unemployment.
Not all the economic and social changes, however, were for the worse. Not
only did the availability and variety of consumer goods and services greatly
improve, but there was also a significant demilitarisation process, the
geographical location of the population became more economically rational,
and there was a significant growth in the de novo private sector (though
this remained modest).
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