Overview of The Fall of the USSR, Pt II
This episode continues the story of the Soviet Union’s collapse, focusing on what happened in Russia after the USSR formally dissolved in December 1991. It covers Boris Yeltsin’s rise, the chaotic transition from communism to capitalism, the disastrous effects of “shock therapy” privatization, the emergence of the oligarchs, and how the turbulence of the 1990s helped create the conditions for Vladimir Putin’s rise.
The Power Shift After the USSR Fell
Gorbachev vs. Yeltsin
- After the USSR dissolved, there was uncertainty about who would control Russia.
- Mikhail Gorbachev was still technically in power for a time, while Boris Yeltsin had become the popularly elected president of Russia.
- The failed August 1991 coup against Gorbachev backfired badly for the hardliners and ended up strengthening Yeltsin.
The Coup’s Impact
- Gorbachev was placed under house arrest while tanks rolled into Moscow.
- Yeltsin famously addressed the public from a tank, which made him look like a defender of democracy and badly damaged the communist leadership’s legitimacy.
- Gorbachev ultimately handed over power peacefully and dissolved the Soviet presidency and Communist Party structures, helping prevent further chaos.
Russia’s Sudden Identity Crisis
A Nation Without a Role
- The collapse of the USSR removed not just a government, but a shared identity for millions of people.
- Many citizens had seen themselves as part of a collective Soviet project; once that vanished, they felt unmoored and lost.
- Some welcomed the end of communism, but many others felt betrayed or disoriented.
The Vacuum Left Behind
- Russian Orthodoxy and nationalism began to fill some of the moral and ideological void.
- Vladimir Putin, then a KGB officer in Dresden, reportedly saw the collapse as a failure to offer anything in its place: “nothing different was proposed.”
Shock Therapy and Economic Collapse
Rapid Privatization
- Yeltsin and reformers like Yegor Gaidar, with support from Western economists, pursued “shock therapy” to convert Russia into a market economy quickly.
- Reforms included:
- freeing prices and currencies
- privatizing state-owned enterprises
- removing trade barriers
- seeking emergency Western loans
Why It Went So Badly
- Russia had almost no infrastructure or experience with a free market.
- The reforms triggered severe hyperinflation and wiped out many people’s savings.
- Consumer prices skyrocketed, and the transition felt chaotic and punitive to ordinary Russians.
The Rise of the Oligarchs
Voucher Privatization
- The government distributed vouchers to citizens, theoretically giving them a share in state-owned assets.
- Many people traded these vouchers for basic goods like bread because they seemed worthless.
- Wealthy insiders and opportunists bought up huge numbers of vouchers and consolidated them into control over major industries.
Loans-for-Shares Scheme
- Later, the government handed over stakes in major companies to businessmen in exchange for short-term loans.
- This created a tiny class of ultra-wealthy oligarchs who gained control of oil, metals, and other strategic sectors.
- Putin himself benefited from this environment and became wealthy through business and financial deals in the 1990s.
Resulting Inequality
- Russia’s middle class was hollowed out.
- Factories closed, entire towns collapsed economically, and unemployment soared.
- The episode cites dire social indicators, including:
- huge poverty rates
- rising alcoholism
- falling birth rates
- a sharp drop in male life expectancy
The 1990s as a Political Backlash
Why the West’s Approach Mattered
- The hosts argue that the U.S. and broader West treated the end of the USSR as a victory, not a chance to help rebuild Russia in a spirit of partnership.
- George H.W. Bush is portrayed as largely turning away from Russia after the Cold War.
- This lack of support may have deepened resentment and helped fuel nostalgia for the Soviet era.
Yeltsin’s Decline
- Yeltsin initially seemed like a democratic reformer, but his presidency became associated with chaos, corruption, and economic misery.
- His approval ratings collapsed.
- He dissolved parliament after being impeached and even ordered military action against it, a highly authoritarian move that was still often framed in the West as anti-communist heroism.
Putin’s Rise and the Return of Centralized Power
From Security to Control
- Putin was appointed prime minister under Yeltsin and moved quickly to assert himself.
- His brutal handling of Chechnya made him popular with many Russians who wanted stability and strength.
- Yeltsin handed power to Putin at the end of 1999.
Rolling Back the 1990s
- Putin gradually reasserted state control over media and curtailed market freedoms.
- He brought oligarchs to heel, allowing them wealth and influence only so long as they stayed out of politics.
- One oligarch who challenged him, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was jailed and stripped of assets.
The Bigger Theme
- The episode frames Putin’s rise as rooted in the humiliation and disorder of the 1990s.
- The sense that Russia had been cheated or weakened made a strongman restoration narrative politically powerful.
Key Takeaways
- The USSR’s collapse created not just a political vacuum, but an identity crisis for millions of people.
- Russia’s abrupt shift to capitalism was chaotic and deeply damaging for ordinary citizens.
- Privatization produced extreme inequality and the emergence of oligarchs.
- The hardships of the 1990s helped create public appetite for a leader who promised order and restored national pride.
- Putin’s rise was not an accident; it was enabled by the collapse-era conditions and the public backlash against that decade.
Outro / Listener Mail
- The episode ends with listener mail correcting the show’s earlier UK discussion.
- A listener points out that Cornwall should be recognized as a distinct Celtic nation/cultural region with its own language, identity, and political status, not merely as a county in England.
- The hosts appreciate the correction and note they hadn’t encountered that information in their research.