Editing History of Russia (section)

===Liberal reforms of the 1990s===
Although Yeltsin came to power on a wave of optimism, he never recovered his popularity after endorsing [[Yegor Gaidar]]'s "[[shock therapy (economics)|shock therapy]]" of ending Soviet-era price controls, drastic cuts in state spending, and an open foreign trade regime in early 1992 (''see'' [[Economy of Russia#History|Russian economic reform in the 1990s]]). The reforms immediately devastated the living standards of much of the population. In the 1990s Russia suffered an economic downturn that was, in some ways, more severe than the United States or Germany had undergone six decades earlier in the Great Depression.<ref>Peter Nolan, ''China's Rise, Russia's Fall''. Macmillan Press, 1995. pp. 17–18.</ref> [[Hyperinflation]] hit the ruble, due to [[monetary overhang]] from the days of the planned economy.
[[File:Boris Yeltsin-2.jpg|thumb|right|[[Boris Yeltsin]]—first president of Russian Federation in 1999]]
Meanwhile, the profusion of small parties and their aversion to coherent alliances left the legislature chaotic. During 1993, Yeltsin's rift with the parliamentary leadership led to the [[Russian constitutional crisis of 1993|September–October 1993 constitutional crisis]]. The crisis climaxed on 3 October, when Yeltsin chose a radical solution to settle his dispute with parliament: he called up tanks to shell the [[White House of Russia|Russian White House]], blasting out his opponents. As Yeltsin was taking the unconstitutional step of dissolving the legislature, Russia came close to a serious civil conflict. Yeltsin was then free to impose the [[constitution of the Russian Federation|current Russian constitution]] with strong presidential powers, which was approved by referendum in December 1993. The cohesion of the Russian Federation was also threatened when the republic of [[Chechnya]] attempted to break away, leading to the [[First Chechen War|First]] and [[Second Chechen War]]s.

Economic reforms also consolidated a semi-criminal oligarchy with roots in the old Soviet system. Advised by Western governments, the [[World Bank]], and the [[International Monetary Fund]], Russia embarked on the largest and fastest [[privatization]] ever to reform the fully [[Nationalization|nationalized]] Soviet economy. By mid-decade, retail, trade, services, and small industry was in private hands. Most big enterprises were acquired by their old managers, engendering a new rich ([[Russian oligarch|Russian tycoons]]) in league with [[Russian Mafia|criminal mafias]] or Western investors.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Fairbanks | first1 = Charles H. Jr. | year = 1999 | title = The Feudalization of the State | journal=Journal of Democracy | volume = 10 | issue = 2| pages = 47–53 | doi = 10.1353/jod.1999.0031 | s2cid = 155013709 }}</ref> [[Corporate raider]]s such as [[Andrei Volgin (businessman)|Andrei Volgin]] engaged in [[hostile takeover]]s of corrupt corporations by the mid-1990s.

By the mid-1990s Russia had a system of multiparty electoral politics.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cdi.org/russia/johnson/9176-3.cfm|title=Russian president praises 1990s as cradle of democracy|work=Johnson's Russia List|access-date=20 July 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711053706/http://www.cdi.org/russia/johnson/9176-3.cfm|archive-date=11 July 2007}}</ref> But it was harder to establish a representative government because of the struggle between president and parliament and the anarchic party system.

Meanwhile, the central government had lost control of the localities, bureaucracy, and economic fiefdoms, and tax revenues had collapsed. Still in a deep depression, Russia's economy was hit further by the [[1998 Russian financial crisis|financial crash of 1998]]. At the end of 1999, Yeltsin made a surprise announcement of his resignation, leaving the government in the hands of the Prime Minister [[Vladimir Putin]].<ref>CNN [http://archives.cnn.com/1999/WORLD/europe/12/31/yeltsin.resigns.04/ Apologetic Yeltsin resigns; Putin becomes acting president] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113082107/http://archives.cnn.com/1999/WORLD/europe/12/31/yeltsin.resigns.04/ |date=13 November 2007 }}. Written by Jim Morris. Published 31 December 1999.</ref>