Document Type

Working Paper

Publication Date

Summer 6-2025

DOI

10.25776/eqb5-5a12

Pages

1-30 pp.

Abstract

The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 marked the beginning of a complex, often turbulent, period of transition and modernization for Russia. Unlike the anticipated linear path toward Western-style democracy and market economics, Russia’s post-Soviet experience has been defined by profound contradictions, reversals, and ongoing contestations over its political, economic, and social order (Minakov, 2016). The initial wave of reforms, particularly in the 1990s, brought about radical economic restructuring, privatization, and an attempted shift to a free-market system. Yet, these rapid changes led to significant economic dislocation, social inequality, and the rise of oligarchic power structures, which ultimately undermined both democratization and sustainable modernization (Nagirnyak & Banakh, 2019).

Scholars such as Minakov have argued that, rather than a straightforward modernization, post-Soviet Russia has witnessed waves of de-modernization, where the loss of social orientation and the reaction against the uncertainties of the new order produced a kind of ethical and political crisis. The social costs of transition have been immense: rising poverty, declining public health, and the erosion of social safety nets all contributed to a sense of instability and disillusionment among ordinary Russians (Round & Williams, 2010). As Abbott and Wallace point out, the economic collapse of the early transition years left deep scars on the social fabric, with many households forced into informal economies or relying on subsistence strategies.

Politically, the transition failed to establish robust democratic institutions. Instead, the 2000s saw the consolidation of power in the hands of a centralized executive, the curtailment of pluralism, and the reassertion of state control over key sectors of the economy (Ticktin, 2002). This “failed transition” has led some analysts to conclude that Russia’s post-Soviet trajectory defies classical models of capitalist development or democratization and instead reflects a hybrid system characterized by patronal politics, economic statism, and selective modernization (Smith, 2024).

Modernization in Russia after 1991 has thus been uneven and contested. While certain sectors, especially energy and defense, have undergone technological renewal and global integration, other areas remain mired in inefficiency and corruption (Kivinen & Maslovskiy, 2020). The environmental consequences of industrial restructuring, as well as the challenges of sustainable development, further complicate Russia’s modernization agenda (Oldfield, 2017).

In sum, the challenges of transition and modernization in post-Soviet Russia are best understood as dynamic and ongoing struggles over the direction of society, the distribution of power and resources, and the meaning of “modernity” itself. Rather than a completed process, Russia’s post-Soviet transformation remains a deeply unfinished project, shaped by global pressures, internal contradictions, and the legacies of its Soviet past.

Rights

Included with kind permission from the author.

ORCID

0009-0006-9633-0945 (Edmond)

Original Publication Citation

Edmond, Chick. (2025). Post Soviet Russia: Challenges to transition and modernization. 1-30. https://doi.org/10.25776/eqb5-5a12

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