Russia Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ====Transition to a market economy and political crises==== The economic and political collapse of the Soviet Union led Russia into a deep and prolonged depression. During and after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, wide-ranging reforms including [[Privatization in Russia|privatisation]] and [[free trade|market and trade liberalisation]] were undertaken, including radical changes along the lines of "[[shock therapy (economics)|shock therapy]]".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Shleifer |first1=Andrei |last2=Treisman |first2=Daniel |year=2005 |title=A Normal Country: Russia After Communism |url=https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/shleifer/files/normal_jep.pdf |journal=[[Journal of Economic Perspectives]] |volume=19 |number=1 |pages=151β174 |publisher=[[Harvard University]] |doi=10.1257/0895330053147949 |access-date=24 November 2021 |archive-date=12 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112210023/https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/shleifer/files/normal_jep.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The privatisation largely shifted control of enterprises from state agencies to individuals with inside connections in the government, which led to the rise of [[Russian oligarchs]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-02/rich-russians-the-rise-of-the-oligarchs/10626236|title=The rise of Russia's oligarchs β and their bid for legitimacy|work=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|first=Joey|last=Watson|date=2 January 2019|access-date=28 May 2021|archive-date=21 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321211740/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-02/rich-russians-the-rise-of-the-oligarchs/10626236|url-status=live}}</ref> Many of the newly rich moved billions in cash and assets outside of the country in an enormous [[capital flight]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Tikhomirov |first=Vladimir |title=Capital Flight from Post-Soviet Russia |journal=[[Europe-Asia Studies]] |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |volume=49 |number=4 |pages=591β615 |date=June 1997 |doi=10.1080/09668139708412462 |jstor=153715}}</ref> The depression of the economy led to the collapse of social servicesβthe [[birth rate]] plummeted while the [[death rate]] skyrocketed,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hollander |first=D. |title=In Post-Soviet Russia, Fertility Is on the Decline; Marriage and Childbearing are Occurring Earlier |jstor=2953371 |doi=10.2307/2953371 |pages=92β94 |volume=29 |number=2 |year=1997 |journal=Family Planning Perspectives |publisher=[[Guttmacher Institute]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chen |first1=Lincoln C. |last2=Wittgenstein |first2=Friederike |last3=McKeon |first3=Elizabeth |title=The Upsurge of Mortality in Russia: Causes and Policy Implications |jstor=2137719 |doi=10.2307/2137719 |volume=22 |number=3 |pages=517β530 |date=September 1996 |journal=[[Population and Development Review]] |publisher=[[Population Council]]}}</ref> and millions plunged into poverty;<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Klugman |first1=Jeni |last2=Braithwaite |first2=Jeanine |title=Poverty in Russia during the Transition: An Overview |jstor=3986388 |volume=13 |number=1 |pages=37β58 |date=February 1998 |journal=The World Bank Research Observer |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|doi=10.1093/wbro/13.1.37 }}</ref> while extreme corruption,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Shlapentokh |first=Vladimir |title=Corruption, the power of state and big business in Soviet and post-Soviet regimes |journal=Communist and Post-Communist Studies |jstor=48610380 |volume=46 |number=1 |date=March 2013 |pages=147β158 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |doi=10.1016/j.postcomstud.2012.12.010}}</ref> as well as criminal gangs and organised crime rose significantly.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Frisby |first=Tanya |title=The Rise of Organised Crime in Russia: Its Roots and Social Significance |date=January 1998 |volume=50 |number=1 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |journal=[[Europe-Asia Studies]] |pages=27β49 |doi=10.1080/09668139808412522 |jstor=153404}}</ref> In late 1993, tensions between Yeltsin and the Russian parliament culminated in [[1993 Russian constitutional crisis|a constitutional crisis]] which ended violently through military force. During the crisis, Yeltsin was backed by Western governments, and over 100 people were killed.<ref>{{cite web |last=Goncharenko |first=Roman |date=3 October 2018 |title=Russia's 1993 crisis still shaping Kremlin politics, 25 years on |work=[[DW News]] |publisher=[[Deutsche Welle]] |url=https://www.dw.com/en/russias-1993-crisis-still-shaping-kremlin-politics-25-years-on/a-45733546 |access-date=2 February 2022 |archive-date=14 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220414044222/https://www.dw.com/en/russias-1993-crisis-still-shaping-kremlin-politics-25-years-on/a-45733546 |url-status=live }}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). 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