Quote Originally Posted by TronDD
Are these charts supposed to put blame on Yeltsin for Russia's problems? They all start to dive in '87, 4 years before he came into power, and they all start to go back up 2 years before he left.

I'm saying this as one who is completly ignorant of Russia's economy and politics, but it doesn't look like he can be blamed for anything except not instantly fixing the country.

Tim.
What you're saying is correct. My impression is, too, that they all started to decline somewhere in 1987-88. The critical observation is that before 1991 that decline is within normal fluctuations (on that charts that show 1984 and earlier). But after 1991 they "sky-rocketed", into the ground. My interpretation is "there had been certain recession until 1991, and the reforms of 1991 were meant (or advertised) to deal with it, but they turned the recession into a catastrophe".

Not to mention that the prior recession is illuminating of Gorbi's perestroika.