Russian Federation 1990s: GDP in 1997 fell to 50% of what it was in 1991 Poverty level: more than 30% of Russian population had income that fell below the “threshold of poverty” Life expectancy: dropped noticeably for men, from 63.9 (1985-1990) to 59.6 (1995-2001). Privatized violence Rise of organized crime Foreign debt: from $80 billion (late 1991) to $150 billion (1998), which the Yeltsin government was unable to repay or service. Financial crisis of August, 1998: reduced governments bonds to 15% of their former value devalued the ruble by 75% led to an inflation of 75% , wiping out the savings of middle-class Russians.
Russian Federation 2000-2008: Government revenue: increased through strengthened tax collection institutions, and from taxing energy exports (export tariffs on oil) GDP: from $200 billion (1999) to $1,680 billion (2008) Per capital GNP: from $1,710 (2000) to $9,660 (2008) Government debt: reduced from $150 billion (1998) to $53 billion (2008)
Official formulation of Russian National Idenity: Civic Russian Nation (grazhdanskaia rossiiskaia natsiia) гражданская российская нация Multiethnic Multiconfessional vs. Ethnic Russian Nation (russkaia natsiia) русская нация ethno-Russocentric
Russian View: A Kosovo referendum for independence was promised by the US without the agreement of the other UN nations at Rambouillet, a promise that went against the intent of the Rambouillet accord signed prior to the NATO bombing campaign. During the bombing the Serbian forces committed the worst of the atrocities against Kosovars. Thus the Serbian atrocities—which might have been avoided had the bombing not exacerbated the Serbian–Kosovo Albanian conflict—were an ex post facto justification for Kosovo independence.
Masha Gessen, “Russia, Trump & Flawed Intelligence,” New York Review of Books Daily, 9 January 2017; http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2017/01/09/russia-trump-election-flawed-intelligence/ Chia Yin Hsu, March 22.2017, at XRAY FM “XRAY In the Morning”; http://www.publichistorypdx.org/2017/03/22/professor-chia-yin-hsu-xray-morning-fbi-director-james-comey-inquiry-russia/
Congressional Hearing on FBI Investigation of Russian Interference in 2016 Election (March 4, 2017) NUNES (R-CA): … The Putin regime has a long history of aggressive actions against other countries … SCHIFF (D-CA): … Last summer … a foreign adversarial power intervened in an effort to weaken our democracy … SPEIER (D-CA): … is Russia our adversary? Mr. Comey? SPEIER: So one of the terms that we hear often is hybrid warfare. And I'd like to just stand give a short definition of what it is. It blends conventional warfare, irregular warfare and cyber warfare. … So would you say that Russia engaged in hybrid warfare in its effort to undermine our Democratic process and engage in our electoral process? Director Comey? COMEY (FBI): I don't think I would use the term warfare. … They engaged in a multifaceted campaign of active measures to undermine our democracy … ROGERS (NSA): I'd agree with the director. SPEIER: All right, well, thank you both. I actually think that their engagement was an act of war, an act of hybrid warfare …
Politico (March 17, 2017): “… Russia is destabilizing the Continent on every front. … Fomenting European disintegration from within, Russia also threatens Europe from without through its massive military buildup … [T]he Russian regime is one to be resisted, contained and ultimately dethroned. For none of the existential problems Europe faces will dissipate until the menace to its East is subdued. The road to a Europe whole, free and at peace, in other words, goes through [the dethroning of] Moscow.”
President Trump, April 12, 2017: “[F]rankly, if Russia didn’t go in and back this animal, we wouldn’t have a problem right now. … Putin is backing a person that’s truly an evil person, and I think it’s very bad for mankind. It’s very bad for this world.”