History of the Russian Federation

Presidents

Boris Yeltsin 1991-1999.
Vladimir Putin from 1999 acting, from 2000 formally.

Post-communist period

Following the abolishment of the communist party in August 1991, and the collapse of the Soviet Union that same year, Russia suddenly found itself independent and democratic, at least nominally. Since then, the country has tried to transform itself into a stable democracy with a market-driven economy, but has met many obstacles along the way.

The new political system

...Two-chamber parliament, President appoints prime minister and cabinet, has power to dissolve parliament...

The economic transformation

...Big-bang-reform, privatization, new economic oligarchy, organized crime...

The loss of Superpower status

Although the new Russian Federation was widely accepted as the Soviet Union's successor state in diplomatic affairs, Russia simply did not have the military and political power the Soviet Union once had. Russia managed to make the other ex-soviet republics voluntarily disarm themselves of nuclear weapons, but the Russian army and fleet were in a nearly non-functional state by 1991. There was no way the government could pay the officers' salaries, and soldiers were deserting in droves. By massive reductions and scrapping of ships, airplanes and tanks, the army is slowly getting control over its spending and organization, but it is by no means as powerful as the Red Army once was. On January 2, 1991 Russia began to circulate new rubles to stem inflation and promote confidence.

The constitutional crisis of 1993

By the fall of 1993, roughly half of the Russian parliament members were still not democratically elected, since they had had their seats since before 1991. The Parliament, led by the ex-Communists and Duma Speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov (an earlier Yeltsin supporter), opposed President Yeltsin regarding how the power should be divided between the Presidency and the parliament. Yeltsin's Vice President, Aleksandr Vladimirovich Rutskoy, also supported the Parliament's views, and was sacked on September 1st.

On September 21st, Yeltsin dissolved the Parliament, something he was not allowed to do by the then-functioning constitution. The Parliament deemed Yeltsin's presidency unconstitutional, and on September 22nd appointed Rutskoy as Acting President. Tension built quickly, and the rebellious representatives barricaded themself in the Parliament building, "the White House". On October 2nd and 3rd, there were rioting in the streets of Moscow, and soldiers supporting the Parliament attacked the TV center Ostakino on the night of October 3rd. Russia was on the brink of civil war.

On October 4th, Yeltsin ordered the special forces to storm the Parliament, and CNN showed pictures of tanks lobbing shells at the White House. Official records reported 146 people killed in the October violence. Rutskoy, Khasbulatov, and the other rebel leaders were arrested, but given a pardon on February 26, 1994.

A new Parliament, although still Communist-dominated, were elected soon after. This brutal episode served to prove that Russia is not a parliamentary democracy, but rather a presidential republic. (Much like the USA, but with substantially more power in the President's hands.)

The wars in Chechnya

1994 - 1996, 1999-present...Putin's takeover on December 31, 1999...

Events in the Putin Administration

In August, 2002, an explosion aboard the Soviet submarine Kursk caused the submarine to sink in the Barents Sea. Rescue offers from Britain and other NATO powers were declined. All sailors aboard the Kursk died. President Putin was criticized for his slow reaction to offers of aid.

In October, 2002, Chechen rebels took over a Moscow theater. Over 700 people inside were taken hostage. The rebels demanded the immediate withdraw of Russian forces from Chechnya, and threatened to blow up the building if authorities attempted to enter. Three days later, Russian commandos stormed the building after the hostages had been subdued with a sleeping gas. The gas, which Russian officials refused to identify to doctors treating the hostages, was implicated as the cause of death for over 115 hostages. (See Moscow theatre siege for details.)

In the aftermath of the theatre siege, Putin began renewed efforts to eliminate the Chechen insurrection and to further consolidate government control over Russian media outlets.