A Year After the Crisis: Preliminary Results from the Standpoint of Public Opinion

Abstract

A year has passed since the decision of Sergei Kirienko's government [to devalue the ruble] on 17 August [1998]. The economic crisis that this ignited and the acute political crisis that followed had consequences that are felt even today, although we cannot identify them all. Some of these consequences have been positive (such as the boost given to the development of domestic production), but many more have been negative. The crisis had a profound impact on people's living standards and in politics led to a substantial reshuffling both within the "party in power" and in the opposition camp. The current instability is a direct result of this reshuffling.