The 1990s in Russia are called “wild” or “the time of hopes”. Do you know the most important details of the key political events of that period?

1. In December 1991, Boris Yeltsin gave Yegor Gaidar powers to lead the government, and Gaidar organized the “government of reforms”. Many of its members called it “the kamikaze government”. Why?

• A. They wanted to use the chaotic conditions for their personal profit.
• B. In the face of the breakup of the government’s power, most of their efforts went into preventing economic collapse while paying less attention to reforms.
• C. Boris Yeltsin promised to execute them if they didn’t reform the economy in one year.
• D. They were afraid of being torn to pieces by an outraged crowd.

Comments: The catastrophic situation at the end of 1991 resulted from the actions of previous regimes and the fall of the USSR. Gaidar, along with many of his government’s members, later stated that the majority of their efforts were dedicated to preventing a full stoppage of the economy, noting that any responsible manager would have done the same. Little time was left to regulate the reforms, which were painful for the population, as any dramatic social change would be. There was also resistance from the conservative majority of the Supreme Soviet of Russia, and the so-called “red directors” largely blocked the reforms. Because of these two factors, the members of this government felt that their dismissal was inevitable.

2. On October 2nd, 1993, the radio station, Echo of Moscow broadcast the words one of these then-popular politicians addressing the military pilots: “Comrades, get in your planes, go bomb the Kremlin!” Who was it?

• A. Boris Yeltsin, the president of Russia.
• B. Alexander Rutskoy, Russian vice-president.
• C. Albert Makashow, a general.
• D. Anatoly Chubais, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.

Comments: By the autumn of 1993, the political struggle between the president of the Russian Federation and the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation had become a political crisis. The crisis was made worse by a legal impasse, since the Supreme Soviet tried to preserve the Soviet model of combining the executive and the legislative branches, and by the fact that the political forces were not keen on dissolving the conflicts using democratic procedures. In October, armed confrontations started in Moscow. The White House defenders successfully stormed the City Hall and tried to capture the main TV Centre Ostankino. The attack on the White House by tanks was a turning point. Even though the tanks shot blanks, the rebels were scared and immediately surrendered, and this dramatic picture settled in the historical memory of the Russian people. The effect of this confrontation was serious. Over the course of several days, at least 150 people were killed, according to officials. The political leaders lost the trust of the people, and the power system was transformed radically. Violence became an acceptable way to solve political conflicts.

3. The Russian Constitution of 1993 stated that

• A. The president possesses general leadership over the Government of Russia.
• B. If the president wishes to, the Federation Council can fire any judge.
• C. Russian international agreements have more power than local law.
• D. Government agencies can appoint local officials.

Comments: The Russian Constitution of 1993 created a legal foundation for building a modern democratic state. It became a constitution of direct action, which is especially important for the implementation of human rights and liberties. It strengthened the division of power, even though presidential power was still dominant, and became the base for the creation of local government systems. It is with this constitution that the Soviet power system in effect since 1917 was finally abolished.

Article 15 of the Russian Constitution, which gave the international agreements priority over local Russian law, did not disappear even in 2020. The new amendments state that the “decisions of international authorities, made based on the international treaties of the Russian Federation are not to be executed in the Russian Federation if they contradict the Constitution of the Russian Federation”.

Such wording does not refute the authority of international norms but makes it possible to ignore them in certain situations, even if it contradicts international law. The most important amendments of 2020 are ones that expand the president’s authority while narrowing the power of the government, and the legislative and the judicial branches of the state. The president’s immunity now continues even after his presidential term. He gained general leadership over the government and the power to appoint and fire federal ministers and the attorney general. The president can now be re-elected twice more, in addition to his previous terms.

It is only with the 2020 amendments that the judges of the Constitutional Court, as well as of any other court, can be fired based on the president’s will. Before the amendments, the courts had the power to elect and fire officials themselves.

The power of local governments was, in fact, nullified. A unification of the state and local governments was declared. The state authorities can now take part in creating the local government bodies, appointing, and firing the local officials, etc.

4. How many political parties took part in the State Duma election in 1995?

• A. Less than 10.
• B. 11-30.
• C. 31-50.
• D. More than 50.

Comments: The formation of a modern party system, a process which started in the 1990s, was never finished. During the first five years of the 1990s the number of parties grew radically, but in the second half of the decade it declined. 13 parties took part in the State Duma election in 1993, 43 in 1995, and 26 in 1999. In 1995, there were 258 registered political parties, but in 1999 there were only 139. The parties were weak mainly because they didn’t have the time to become organizations representing the interests of large population groups. The limitation of the Federal Assembly (according to the Russian Constitution of 1993) and the people’s inexperience with voting in a party system also weakened these parties. The liberal leaders of the early 1990s could not create a strong “party of power”. Their party, The Choice of Russia, received 16% of the vote in 1993. In the State Duma election of 1995, the “party of power”, Our Home – Russia, which included more officials and heads of enterprise, received a mere 10% of the vote. During the second half of the decade and especially after 2000 the natural development of the party system became more and more deformed. The party of power acts less and less like a political party that represents the interests of a large group of people, but as a corporation of officials that brings the will of the executive branch into life. Real political parties are few, unpopular, and unable to become a part of the legislative branch.

5. Viktor Chernomyrdin, who became the Prime Minister of Russia after Yegor Gaidar’s dismissal,

• A. Continued liberal reforms.
• B. Began cancelling liberal reforms.
• C. “Froze” liberal reforms.
• D. Did nothing about economic problems.

Comments: Viktor Chernomyrdin is remembered mainly for his malapropisms. He was seen as part of the old nomenklatura² connected to production, which is why the deputies voted for him. To their surprise, Chernomyrdin’s government continued with the reforms. The government’s priorities in 1993 included the strengthening of the Russian ruble, financial stabilization and fighting inflation. Altogether, these policies followed Gaidar’s approach, and the liberal economic reforms continued. Despite the disadvantageous economic conditions, the basis for the development of the new economic and political foundation was created in an unprecedented time frame – less than ten years. However, while the transition to the market economy, albeit with some deformation, was performed, a real democracy could not be built. No real separation of authority, no independence of courts and no competitive party system has been established/implemented. A reform of the law enforcement system never took place.

6. Which of today’s oligarchs was linked to the semibankirschina of the 1990s?

• A. Oleg Deripaska.
• B. Vladimir Potanin.
• C. Roman Abramovich.
• D. The Rotenberg brothers.

Comments: Semibankirschina, a folk word, was introduced by journalist Andrey Fadin in 1996, after Boris Berezovsky arrogantly named the seven people who controlled more than a half of Russia’s economics and influenced the most important political decisions in the country. Those seven were Boris Berezovsky, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven, Vladimir Gusinsky, Alexander Smolensky and Vladimir Potanin. The presence of oligarchy in the 1990s is partially a myth invented by the media since one cannot insist on any direct influence of the richest people on politicians or political institutes. There was, obviously, some influence, most clearly seen in the oligarchs’ financial support of Boris Yeltsin during the 1996 election. Despite the war on oligarchs declared by Vladimir Putin, the wealthiest capitalists still influence the government, although not in the way they did in the 1990s. Out of the former seven only Fridman and Potanin can be considered oligarchs now. On the other hand, others, such as Roman Abramovich, Oleg Deripaska, Viktor Vekselberg and Vagit Alekperov, who gained influence and wealth in the 1990s, are still present. They are accompanied by Vladimir Putin’s friends, Arkady Rotenberg, Igor Sechin and others.

7. The Treaty of Federation was signed on March 31st, 1992, by all the republics except for Chechnya and Tatarstan. This treaty

• A. Helped strengthen the unity of the Russian Federation.
• B. Provoked the decay of the Russian Federation.
• C. Encouraged some territories to separate from the Russian Federation.
• D. Tried to keep the Soviet Union intact.

Comments: Intending to attract the support of the autonomous regions, Boris Yeltsin rashly said in August 1990, “take as much sovereignty as you can eat”. This phrase, which he later admitted was a mistake, encouraged separatist sentiments in autonomous regions and led to many of them declaring sovereignty and making their own laws. Much of the content of statements made by regional politicians was political speculation. According to some experts, real potential for separation was only present in Chechnya and Tuva. However, in the complicated situation of 1992, the threat of the country’s breakdown was considered very seriously. The Treaty of Federation allowed the autonomous regions to move towards more centrist tendencies by setting the legal basis of the division between federal and local authorities. The federal centre sought favour with certain territories in 1992-1994, mostly with national autonomous regions, and built an asymmetric federation, in which some territories gained exclusive rights. This allowed the preservation of state unity. Later, the local authorities lost, little by little, their relative independence.

8. What was the immediate reason for the First Chechen War?

• A. Dzhokhar Dudaev’s proclamation of the Independent Republic of Ichkeria.
• B. Russia’s ultimatum to disarm the “illegal warring factions” in Chechnya.
• C. Russia’s demand to free the hostages in Budyonnovsk.
• D. The murder of Dzhokhar Dudaev.

Comments: Chechen leaders and people were eager to be more politically independent than other regions. However, the main factor that led to the worst possible scenario of relations between the federal centre and the autonomous region was the constant urge of Russian political leaders to use or threaten force. The state of emergency declared by Boris Yeltsin as a response to the declaration of the Independent Republic of Ichkeria led to stronger Chechen loyalty to Dudaev, the formation of a national guard, the blockade of the Russian army, and, finally, the criminalization and loss of control over the republic. When the federal army entered Chechnya on December 10th, 1994, before the expiration of the ultimatum, it led not to the supposed quick victory, but to the far-reaching and tragic First Chechen War which took many lives. The war ended in the defeat of the federal army. On August 31st, 1996, the Russian and Chechen delegates signed the Khasav-Yurt Accord, which ended the First Chechen War and established the following: Chechnya gained the status of an independent republic making up a part of Russia. Russia had to pay compensation for the buildings destroyed in Chechnya and withdraw its army from the region, while the Chechen side had to dissolve illegal armed groups.

To put this in historical perspective, we can say that Dudaev’s project of an independent Chechnya would have been a secular autonomous republic within Russia, while in the present-day Chechnya is an Islamic dictatorship, which is harsher than the Russian dictatorship, with federally funded authorities that are absolutely independent from the federal centre.

9. As a result of the 1995 presidential election, the president of Poland, Lech Wałeşa

• A. Won the election because of the scale of his campaign.
• B. Retired as president after losing to a Democratic Left Alliance candidate.
• C. Led a successor to power.
• D. Did not run in the election and retired.

Comments: The defeat of Lech Wałeşa, a symbol of Polish reforms, and the victory of Aleksander Kwaśniewski, a social democrat, is not only a sign of change in the people’s loyalties, but also an illustration of the success of the democratic process in Poland in the 1990s. This bigger success, in relation to Russian political reforms, was due not only to the better initial conditions (less of a totalitarian legacy, stronger help from the West, “Solidarity” leaders’ authority, etc.), but also to a stronger attention to the cultivation of democratic practice. The free competition of political parties was encouraged, and efforts were directed to form an independent judicial branch. A key factor was the political support of liberal reforms conducted by the government of Tadeusz Mazowiecki and Leszek Balcerowicz. This “shock therapy” gave the first positive results in half a year, supporting the acceptance of the democratic reforms. An administrative and tax decentralization (unseen in Russia) also played a big part in the political and economic reforms. The new Constitution, accepted on May 25th, 1997, which limited the role of the president and the Sejm, led to a further strengthening of democracy. The Council of Ministers became the main element of the executive branch, but the programs proposed by it must be approved by a parliamentary majority.

10. How many people were killed during the wars in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s?

• A. 100-200 people.
• B. 10,000-20,000 people.
• C. 100,000-200,000 people.
• D. 1,000,000-2,000,000 people.

Comments: According to Leszek Balcerowicz, “the peaceful disintegration of the Soviet Union looks like a miracle” compared to the Yugoslav civil war. This war or, to be precise, wars, claimed between 100,000 and 200,000 lives. Such a high casualty rate makes them some of the bloodiest wars in Europe, second only to World War II. These wars were fought in the territories of five (out of six) republics of the former Yugoslavia. From 1991-1992, Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina separated from Yugoslavia, while Serbia and Montenegro created the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The battles with the most bloodshed happened first in Croatia and Bosnia, and then in Serbia (mainly Kosovo). This can be explained by the fact that in these regions people of many different ethnicities lived next to one another. Nationalist leaders of Bosnian Croatians and Bosnian and Croatian Serbs wanted to join their territories to Croatia and Serbia, respectively. The Kosovo Albanians tried to gain independence.

NATO intervened in the conflict twice. The first intervention was in 1995, when NATO intended to stop the ethnic cleansing undertaken by the Serbian army. This intervention led to peace negotiations. Because of these negotiations, an agreement to create a united state of Bosnia and Herzegovina was made. In this state, three nations, Bosnians, Croatians, and Serbs, would have equal rights, and each administrative entity would have its own government. NATO intervened for the second time in 1999, bombing Belgrade, the capital of Yugoslavia, in order to make the president, Slobodan Milošević, withdraw the Serbian army from Kosovo, where the fight against armed separatists turned into the ethnic cleansing of Albanians and led to the mass displacement of Kosovan citizens as refugees. The Serbian army left Kosovo and KFOR, a NATO-led international peacekeeping force, moved in. In 2008, Kosovo declared its independence.