Russia: a new era

Russian market reforms launched at the beginning of 1992 were pursued in a society struggling to find its identity after almost 75 years of communist rule ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Of course, Russia still faces many problems and challenges, but the new generation of politicians and businessmen who are coming to the forefront are better educated, better informed, more experienced and generally better equipped to lead Russia to progress and prosperity in the years to come — an encouraging fact that allows us to look confidently into the future.

Along with the election of President Putin and a new parliament, the economy has shown measured improvement as the effects of ruble devaluation of 1998 and high world commodity prices created favorable conditions for the Russian economy during 2000. Russia’s GDP grew by 7.6%, the best result in more than a decade, and inflation decreased from 36.7% in 1999 to 20.0% in 2000. Russia’s trade surplus was $61 billion, and Central bank reserves increased from $12.5 billion at the end of 1999 to $28 billion at the end of 2000.