Economic Developments in Contemporary Russia

Ian Jeffries is Honorary Professor in the Department of Economics and Centre of Russian and East European Studies at Swansea University, UK. His recent publications include A History of Eastern Europe: Crisis and Change, 2nd edition; The Balkans: a Post-Communist History and numerous books in the series, Guides to Economic and Political Developments in Asia (all published by Routledge).

Introduction and summary 1. Economic Transition 2. Liberalization: The 'virtual economy'; the enrichment of the minority (oligarchs); crime and corruption; the 1999 McKinsey Global Institute report; price liberalization; foreign trade (including liberalization, capital flight and the WTO). 3. Privatization in the non-agricultural sectors: The first stage of privatization (1 October-1July 1994); developments after the first stage (including the Yukos saga, the 'shares-for-loans' scheme and the furthering of state control through consolidation); natural gas and Ukraine; Belarus and Russian energy supplies. 4. Agriculture: Laws and decrees relating to private land ownership; the Nizhny Novgorod experiment; the new Land Code; the development of private farming. 5. Direct foreign investment: Volume; production-sharing agreements; developments in oil and gas; developments in policy; outward direct foreign investment. 6. Macroeconomic stabilization: Hyperinflation and how it was conquered (including foreign aid and debt and the role of the IMF); the financial crisis of August 1998; the global financial crisis. 7. Dmitri Medvedev: thoughts on the economy. 8. Economic performance.