Political and economic developments to 2000

List political developments

• 1993 Constitution

• 1993 constitutional crisis

• 1996 presidential election

• political polarisation vs corruption

Describe 1993 Constitution

1993 Constitution:

• Created a strong presidency with sweeping powers over parliament.

• Multiparty elections were introduced,

• but in practice authority was concentrated in Yeltsin’s hands.

Describe 1993 constitutional crisis

1993 constitutional crisis:

• Parliament resisted Yeltsin’s reforms;

  • he responded by illegally dissolving it.

• The standoff ended with tanks shelling the White House (Oct 1993),

  • killing ≈150.

• Yeltsin secured dominance but undermined democratic legitimacy.

Describe 1996 presidential election

1996 presidential election:

• Despite approval ratings below 10% earlier that year,

• Yeltsin won re-election with 57% of the vote.

• Media manipulation, oligarch money, and Western loans ensured victory,

• exposing the fragility of Russia’s new democracy.

Describe political pluralism vs corruption

• Multiparty elections flourished,

• but oligarch influence, clientelism, and Yeltsin’s authoritarian measures (parliament shelling, reliance on decrees) eroded the credibility of democratic institutions.

Evaluate political developments 

• Politically, Russia in the 1990s was a hybrid system: formally democratic but corrupted by money, authoritarian practices, and weak rule of law.

• Instead of establishing trust, Yeltsin’s reforms deepened disillusionment with democracy,

• paving the way for Putin’s consolidation.

List economic developments

• Shock therapy

• privatisation

• social crisis

• 1998 financial crisis

• recovery

Describe shock therapy

Shock therapy (1992):

• Guided by Yegor Gaidar,

• price liberalisation unleashed ≈2,500% inflation,

  • wiping out savings.

• Between 1991–96, GDP fell ≈40%,

  • a contraction worse than the US Great Depression.

Describe privatisation 

• Voucher schemes gave citizens shares,

• but oligarchs acquired most assets cheaply,

  • controlling ≈50% of the economy by the mid-1990s.

• Wealth concentrated in oil, gas, and banking,

  • creating vast inequality.

Describe social crisis 

• By 1996, ≈25% of Russians lived below the poverty line.

• Male life expectancy collapsed from 65 (1987) to 57 (1994)

  • due to alcoholism, stress, and poor healthcare — a demographic disaster.

Describe 1998 Financial Crisis

1998 Financial Crisis:

• Falling oil prices and corruption triggered sovereign default.

• The rouble collapsed;

• GDP contracted 5.3%;

• banks folded,

• destroying middle-class savings again.

Describe recovery

Recovery (1999–2000):

• A surge in oil prices and early reforms under Putin stabilised the economy,

  • producing ≈6% annual growth.

• Recovery was fragile

  • and owed more to global energy markets than Yeltsin’s policies.

Evaluate economic developments 

Economically, post-Soviet Russia endured the deepest peacetime depression in modern history. Market liberalisation created oligarchs while impoverishing millions.

Limited recovery by 2000 came too late to repair Yeltsin’s legacy, leaving a society marked by inequality, poverty, and distrust of reform.