http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_post-Soviet_Russia#Shock_therapy
Exactly what it says on the tin. WI Russia follows a sane economic policy after the breakup of the Soviet Union? Suppose that idiot Yegor Gaidar who was Yeltsin's deputy prime minister dies in infancy and Yeltsin gets a competent or at least semi-competent advisor on economic issues who doesn't go ahead with that moronic 'shock therapy' thing and instead follows a Deng Xiaoping-style path of steady reform to maintain a sense of stability instead of causing the collapse of a large number of formerly state-run industries. If Yeltsin is in the way, say he conveniently dies of a heart attack in 1992 or something. With as sane and good economic policies as possible (taking into consideration Russia's vast problems in the period 1989-1991), what would Russia be like today?
Exactly what it says on the tin. WI Russia follows a sane economic policy after the breakup of the Soviet Union? Suppose that idiot Yegor Gaidar who was Yeltsin's deputy prime minister dies in infancy and Yeltsin gets a competent or at least semi-competent advisor on economic issues who doesn't go ahead with that moronic 'shock therapy' thing and instead follows a Deng Xiaoping-style path of steady reform to maintain a sense of stability instead of causing the collapse of a large number of formerly state-run industries. If Yeltsin is in the way, say he conveniently dies of a heart attack in 1992 or something. With as sane and good economic policies as possible (taking into consideration Russia's vast problems in the period 1989-1991), what would Russia be like today?