(clicking music)
- [Kasim] According to Russian President Vladimir Putin,
the breakup of the Soviet Union
was the greatest geopolitical disaster of the 20th century.
Russia still cannot recover from that collapse.
Although the country faced serious disaster
and economic chaos after the dissolution of the USSR,
from a geopolitical perspective, although controversial,
but arguably, Moscow is in a far better position
during the so-called wild 1990s
than it is now.
I'm your host Kasim
and welcome to our brand new series
on Russia's past, present and future.
In episode one, we will discuss the aftermath
of the Soviet Union
but just before we begin,
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The collapse of the Soviet Union
left some 30 million Russians outside the borders
of the Russian Federation.
At the same time, it left the United States
as the sole superpower.
As such, it treated Russia as a de-facto defeated country,
since Russia lost the Cold War.
Under the leadership of Boris Yeltsin,
Moscow aimed to promote Russian integration
into the West as well as to secure Western assistance
from the internal transformation of Russia's economy.
Such a policy turned Russia
into effectively a US vassal state.
America even meddled in the Russian 1996 elections
in order to secure the victory
of widely unpopular Boris Yeltsin.
Two years later, Russia faced financial crisis
that led the country to the edge of bankruptcy.
In spite of poor economic performances, in 1997,
for the first time, Russia participated
in economic discussions at the G7 summit
in Denver, Colorado.
The following year, the Russian Federation was integrated
as a full member
of this intergovernmental economic organisation
consisting of the seven largest IMF-described
advanced economies in the world.
That year the G7 became the G8.
Meanwhile, the West sponsored
many separatist movements within Russia.
Throughout the 1990s Russian security forces
had to deal with Chechen and Dagestan secessionists,
while numerous administrative regions of Russia
sought greater autonomy.
In spite of that, Russia managed
to maintain its influence over most former Soviet states.
When the Soviet Union collapsed,
a Commonwealth of Independent States
was established to serve as a forum
for the former Soviet republics.
It was mainly a vehicle that Russia used
in order to preserve its influence and control
over its near abroad, including Ukraine, Belarus,
Moldova, and to some extent even the Caucasuses
and Central Asia.
Russia also preserved certain influence
in the Balkans during the 1990s.
Although Russian foreign policy in response
to the Yugoslav wars and NATO aggression
against Yugoslavia in 1999 gravitated
towards Western interests,
Russian troops captured the Pristina Airport
in the aftermath of the Kosovo War.
The incident resulted in a tense stand-off
between Russian and NATO troops,
but was resolved peacefully.
Russian forces stayed in Kosovo until 2003
when the Kremlin decided to pull out its troops
from both Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Russian troops played significant roles
in many post-Soviet conflicts.
They were deployed to Tajikistan
that faced civil war from 1992 to 1997.
Russian senior officials at the time stated
that "an effective defence of the borders
"of the former Soviet Union serves the interests
"of CIS countries and the national interests of Russia."
They also added that the presence
of over 200,000 ethnic Russians
in Tajikistan placed the region
in Russia's direct sphere of influence.
Russian forces and volunteers took part
in Georgian Civil War, including conflicts
in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
As a result, both Abkhazia and South Ossetia,
backed by Russia, gained de facto independence
from Georgia, and the Kremlin managed
to preserve its influence
in Georgian Adjara province as well.
Russia ended its two century military presence
in Georgia in November 2007 by withdrawing
from the 12th Military Base in Adjara's port city of Batumi.
Moscow still plays a major role in Pridnestrovie,
also known as Transnistria.
During the 1992 war between Moldova
and the self-claimed Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic
Russian's 14th Guards Army based
in Transnistria unofficially backed the PMR forces,
while Romania provided military support
to Moldova by supplying weaponry, ammunition
and armed vehicles to Moldovan forces.
In July 1992 a ceasefire agreement was signed,
and Russia managed to preserve both Moldova
and Pridnestrovie under its control,
although it doesn't share common borders with any of them.
Throughout the 1990s, Russia's influence
in Ukraine was still relatively strong,
in spite of occasional periods of tensions and disputes.
In 1992, Ukraine agreed
to voluntarily remove over 3,000 tactical nuclear weapons,
which some see as a great Russian strategic victory.
Besides, the post-Soviet Russia managed
to keep Belarus in its geopolitical orbit.
In 1999 the two countries even formed
the Russia Belarus Union State,
although to this day it merely exists only on paper.
Even though the Kremlin managed to preserve its influence
in most former Soviets republics,
the post-USSR Russia faced economic disaster.
From 1991 to 1998 Russia lost nearly 30%
of its real gross domestic product.
Capital was leaving the country en masse,
with close to $150 billion worth flowing out
between 1992 and 1999.
The Western-backed Russian government began implementing
a number of radical economic reforms
including price liberalisation, mass privatisation,
and the stabilisation of the ruble.
It was during this period of rapid privatisation
that Russia's oligarchs gained much of their wealth.
They owned everything from sports teams
to major oil companies.
The IMF backed radical market-oriented reforms
and massive privatisation shook a country
that was used to state control.
The so-called wild-west capitalism meant poverty
for many and staggering wealth for the few,
as well as crippling economic depression
and rampant crime and corruption.
Due to instability in the privatisation system for farms,
Russia was forced to import over 1/3
of its food products by 1997.
Once a powerful country that captured Berlin
from the Nazis, resorted to receive humanitarian aid
from the same country it defeated 50 years ago.
In the 1990s, Russia, weak and reliant on Western aid,
acquiesced unhappily to NATO's advance toward its borders.
This allowed the US government to intervene militarily
and otherwise in foreign countries without fear
of major retaliation.
There was no balance of power in world politics anymore,
which was a direct consequence of the collapse
of the Soviet Union.
The fall of the Soviet empire had far-reaching effects
on the world as a whole,
particularly amongst former Soviet republics.
For some countries, such as Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan,
oil and natural gas exports have created prosperity
but have also enabled corruption.
Countries such as Lithuania, Latvia
and Estonia underwent dramatic transformations
by quickly turning to the West,
adopting Western ideals and political leanings,
while other nations, such as Armenia and Tajikistan,
have struggled to flourish in the post-Soviet era
and many citizens remain poverty-stricken
while the states and their politics remain in flux.
Russia, on the other hand, turned into a modern colony ruled
by oligarchs and politicians
who serve the Western interests.
Many analysts claim that such a practise ended in 1999
when a little-known former KGB agent
was appointed acting Russian Prime Minister
by President Boris Yeltsin.
The facts, however, arguably are showing that such claims
are quite far from reality.
That's all for today, guys.
Thanks for watching our first episode
in our brand new Russian series.
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and would love to hear your comments below
especially if you're from Russia.
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