Boris Eltsine
On December 25th, 1991, Mikhaïl Gorbatchev resigned of the presidency of the USSR, while the Congress voted the transformation of the Soviet federative socialist Republic of Russia (RSFSR) of federation of Russia. Boris Eltsine, first president of the RSFSR elected by the vote for all in June 1991 and leader of the reformers, assumed the power and undertook at the beginning it year 1992 of launching the reforms necessary to the economic transformation of the country. He was not long in running up against the opposition of the conservatives, gathered around Alexandre Routskoï, vice-president, and of Rouslan Khasboulatov, president of the Parliament; the deputies refused to confirm in its functions of Prime Minister Egor Gaïdar, the craftsman of the most liberal reforms, and preferred Viktor Tchernomyrdine to him, considered to be more moderate.
To leave the country the political dead end, Eltsine caused in April 1993 the behavior of a referendum which was for him a broad success. A constituent Assembly then started to work with the development of a new Constitution intended to replace that of 1977, from now on unsuited. The relations between the president and the Parliament however continued to be degraded and the power struggles reached their paroxysm in October 1993, when a hundred preserving deputies and their armed partisans cut off themselves in the White House, sits of the Parliament. The attack given by the troops loyal supporters made it possible Eltsine to triumph: at the end of the year 1993, it made adopt by referendum a new constitution increasing the presidential powers considerably. But the legislative elections which were held in same time transfer to triumph in an unexpected way the conservatives and the ultranationalists: the democratic forces and reforming were threatened by a coalition “red-brown”.
Chetchnia
Splashed by the many business in which several of its members were implied, the Eltsine government had soon to deal with the problem of Chetchnia, this small republic of the Caucasus who had proclaimed in a unilateral way his sovereignty in November 1991, under the presidency of bubbling Djokhar Doudaïev. Decided to cross short to any attempt at separatism and to force Chetchnia, showpiece in the supply oil of Russia, to reinstate the federation, Moscow was based on an order in Council of December 1994 to use the force vis-a-vis the rebels.
The military operation which was to be of short duration, compared to the material superiority of the Russians, turned to the disaster: the obsolete material, the inconsistencies of command and the problems of insubordination of certain units were added to the obstinate resistance of which the Chechen ones made proof. Attacking the military and civil objectives indifferently, the Russian army showed a great brutality which shocked the public opinions in the country and abroad.
To spring 1996, the approach of the presidential elections led Eltsine to negotiate: the Lebed general concludes a cease-fire with Zelimkhan Iandarbaïev, new chief of resistance (May 1996).
The financial crisis became political
On August 9th, 1996, Boris Elstine was taken back in his functions for a 4 years mandate, gaining with only 52 % of the voices of the elections which showed all the strength of the conservatives since Guennadi Ziouganov, the Communist candidate, had arrived in second position.
Weakened by the disease which held it one moment far away from the orders of the power, Boris Eltsine dismissed the government of V. Tchernomyrdine in March 1998 and charged this last, to form a new government. A little later it supported the candidature of that which it regarded as its “dolphin”: Sergueï Kirienko, to take the head of the government. Initially refused by the Duma, the nomination of S. Kirienko was finally approved. This last continued a policy of the liberal type but, on on August 17th, 1998, the “monstrous financial crisis”, a long time dreaded and announced as of April, in front of the senators, by A. Tchoubaïs, the vice-premier minister in charge for the economic questions of the Tchernomyrdine government, burst. The rouble crumbled and, with its continuation, all the financial system.
Thus seemed to close the period of ultra-liberalism of Russia post-Communist. Of financial, the crisis became political: the Kirienko government was dismissed on on August 23rd and B. Eltsine named V. Tchernomyrdine acting minister. By twice, the Duma refused its candidature, but, on on September 11th, it accepted that of Evguéni Primakov (old apparatchik, chief of the KGB of the USSR in 1991 then of Russia until 1996, where he became Foreign Minister). This one formed a cabinet then where appeared of the solved adversaries of the economic policy followed since 1992. It tried to make coexist the extremes of the political chessboard, but also to stop the financial collapse of the country by reassuring the Russian and foreign banks, by reinforcing the exchange control and by restoring the monopoly on the “production and the retail sale” of strong alcohols to mitigate the collapse of the revenues from taxes.
However, these first measurements quickly proved insufficient to release the essential resources likely to stop the financial crisis and to finance the budget. Politically weakened by the successive snubs that the Duma and by its incapacity inflicted to him to prevent the action of NATO against Yugoslavia in the conflict of Kosovo, B. Eltsine took again the control of the State while naming, on on May 12th, 1999, the Home secretary, Sergueï Stepachine, in charge of the government and by designating Viktor Khristenko and Nikolaï Aksenenko, Deputy Prime Ministers. Three months later, the Prime Minister was in his turn dismissed by the Head of State and replaced by the former chief of the secret service, Vladimir Vladimirovitch Putin.
Vladimir Putin
Presented like the candidate of Boris Elstine to his own succession, the new chief of the government profited from the support of the voters at the time of the legislative ballot which was organized at the end of the year. Indeed, for the first time since 1991, the partisans of Boris Eltsine could have the majority at the Duma, the Lower House of the Parliament, thanks to the contribution of the voices of the “Union of the forces of right-hand side” (SPS) and of most of a hundred and five the “independent ones”.
The end of the year 1991 was marked by the advertisement of the Head of State to leave the direction of the country and to name the Prime Minister to take over temporarily the duties the power until the next presidential elections. 47 years old and enjoying a great popularity, in particular because of the nationalist policy that it adopted to treat the conflict as Chetchnia, Vladimir Putin was voted by plebiscite by more than 52 % of the voters to become the new in March 2000 Head of State and indicated Mikhaïl Kassianov with the direction of the government (May).