Ekonomski Signali (Jan 2022)
Oligarchization of the Russian economy: Causes, course and consequences
Abstract
The reforms of the 90s in Russia aimed at transferring the economy to a market economy were carried out hastily, without considering national, geographical, and historical specifics. Nihilism in the economic, political, and legal spheres of society allowed the transfer of lucrative raw material industries into the hands of the oligarchs. Unprofitable industries fell into decline, which caused structural distortions in the economy. Thousands of cities and towns have disappeared, causing suffering for the people. In the 2000s, there was the centralization of power and rejection of reforms, the oligarchy merged with the state into financial and industrial groups. The consequence was the emergence of a parasitic form of criminal oligarchic capitalism, motivated to export capital from Russia. At the same time, in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Poland, Czechoslovakia and the Baltic states, reforms and privatization followed a different path. Oligarchization stopped the economic development of Russia and intensified the negative consequences. About this in the paper.
