Russia Turns the Corner

Stephen Sestanovich

From Foreign Affairs, January/February 1994

Summary:  Despite apparent anarchy, Russia is passing three important tests for establishing a democracy. The military is acquiescing in the new democratic order, the old managers of the economy are losing their political grip, and the new regime has come to embody patriotism and legitimacy in the mind of the populace. A fledgling Russian republic may succeed where the Weimar Republic failed.

Stephen Sestanovich is Director of Russian and Eurasian Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

2 The rules set a very low cap on party contributions by individuals (30 monthly salaries), but left it high for corporations (20,000 monthly salaries).

3 In the same spirit, one campaign commercial of Russia?s Choice, the party most closely associated with Yeltsin, showed film clips of soaring military jets with a pop religious tune called "Russia Is Risen" playing in the background.

4 Segodnya, September 30, 1993, p. 3. The article noted that these complaints were often voiced by nationalists; conservatives opposed to foreign aid are, it seems, a universal type.