Twenty years after the beginnings of the metamorphosis of Russia, its society remains deeply divided. Personal freedoms have been largely acquired but the conversion to a market economy has led to the pauperisation of a large part of the population as well as a widespread feeling that public order has collapsed. Vladimir Putin's regime is seeking a synthesis which reconciles liberalism with an attachment, still lively, to certain Soviet values. On the domestic political scene, this synthesis involves re-establishing public order while guaranteeing freedoms. But in the face of problems with setting up an efficientpublic administration, Vladimir Putin has concentrated above all on political order, attacking the counter-veiling powers of regional bosses, the Parliament and Russia's big-time capitalists. Arbitrary tactics have been employed against the "oligarchs", which are damaging to the freedom of expression and the investment climate. This constitutes a step backwards for the spirit of freedom which has characterised Russia's reforms since Gorbachev. Does this herald a pause in the reform process?
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
file. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Publisher Info
Article provided by CEPII research center in its journal La Lettre du CEPII.
Volume (Year): (2003) Issue (Month): 228 (November) Pages: Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML,
plain text,
BibTeX,
RIS (EndNote),
ReDIF
Did you know? Each page is provided with a technical contact, in case something is not right with the supplied information. See under "publisher info".