Economic History of Modern Russia

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Russia embarked on one of the most dramatic economic transformations in modern history. Drawing on Brigitte Granville and Vladimir Mau’s exceptional firsthand experience as high-level advisers to Russian policymakers, The Economic History of Modern Russia provides an authoritative analysis of radical policy reform amid systemic breakdown and reconstruction. Using extensive data and original analysis, the book traces a continuous analytical thread through four decades of upheaval, from the exhaustion of the Soviet model through to the rupture caused by the war in Ukraine in 2022. The first two chapters examine Russia’s repeated, often contradictory attempts at modernization before the Soviet collapse, particularly Gorbachev’s reforms of the 1980s. The authors then divide the post-Soviet period into three phases: the radical post-communist transition; an era of high growth, rising surpluses, and swelling reserves; and 2014–22, when Russia became increasingly estranged from the West, beginning with Crimea and culminating in the war with Ukraine. A central insight is the contrasting legacy of revolutionary meltdown: it fostered a strong prioritization of stability, reflected in effective macroeconomic policy frameworks, but also impeded the institutional reforms needed for Russia to become what contemporary commentators referred to as a Western-style “normal country.”To understand the Russia we face today, we must first understand its economic trajectory. The Economic History of Modern Russia offers readers a clear, historically grounded account of the profound transformation that has unfolded – and why it matters far beyond Russia itself.