Economie russe : Thérapie de choc ou thérapies douces

The shock therapy initiated by Yegor Gaidar, at the expense of a policy known as "gradualism", profoundly changed the Soviet system. The aim was to reorganise Russia's management bodies and state power, introduce a national Russian currency, restructure the general price level and embark on a process of privatisation of state-owned enterprises by means of vouchers, distinguishing between firms that had to be privatised and those that were not. The price to be paid to democracy was considered high, but mandatory. It was also a question of combating an unprecedented economic crisis and establishing the political and economic foundations of a new capitalism. Criticism of this strategy focused on the excessive violence of this policy, which was also considered to be foreign-inspired (especially by international organisations) and dangerous for international peace. A 'russian-style' capitalism was then put in place, with the additional difficulty of simultaneously carrying out the economic transition and the accelerated conversion of the military-industrial complex.