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After the USSR fell, by contrast to the slow reforms of previews years, the new Russian leaders decided to go all out and privatize and deregulate the economy immediately, which led to a huge recession which Russia only recovered from in the late 2000s, in addition to the new oligarchs getting their hands on state property nearly for free. The other former Warsaw Pact nations did the same, universally resulting in chaos and sometimes causing hyperinflation.

What if, seeing the success of the Chinese model, a more gradual approach had been taken, avoiding Russia's deep economic malaise? Would a more stable economy prevent the rise of populist authoritarians such as Putin?
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