1. Unit 5 Day 4: Modern Day Russia
Chapter 17
Unit 5 Day 4: Modern Day Russia

2. What happened after the USSR dissolved?
Late 1980s, instability increased in the region
Caucasus, or Caucasia made of many Russian Republics
Began arming themselves to fight to claim territory
Many die in conflicts for independence
Size of California but has many languages spoken and over 50 different ethnic groups

3. What are the issues in these regions?
Chechnya demands independence and Russia retaliated by invading twice (1995 & 1999)
Georgia fights with Russia over Ossetia but loses
Mountainous area called Nagorno- Karabakh fought over by Armenia and Azerbaijan since the 1920s
USSR kept the peace until it dissolved, then fighting continues (10s of 1,000s died, Armenia won)
Russia invades Chechnya on two different occasions (1995 and 1999) however it seems that there is calm (even though there were bombs in Moscow from Chechnya rebels)
Georgia was attacked by Russia after trying to take over an area known as Ossetia. Georgia defeated
Mountainous area fought over since the 1920s but the USSR kept the peace. Once the USSR dissolved, the fighting broke out again. tens of thousands of people died and over a million refugees fleeing the area. Armenia won out.

4. How does a nation change its economic system?
Russian government stops controlling prices and prices of goods increase by 250%
Privatization: selling government owned businesses to private companies and citizens
Many had to take out loans to buy them
Promised to pay back loans with profits, but many could not pay up
Led to economic crash in 1998
Many felt the government wanted them to fall asleep in a Communist nation nation and wake up in a Capitalist nation
Many Russians did not have money to buy companies from the government, so they allowed citizens to take out loans in order to buy the company.
Lots of people could not pay their loans back and that led to the economic crash of 1998 in Russia.
Many Russians still living in poverty wonder if things were not better under Soviet rule.

5. What were obstacles they faced?
Distance decay: Long distances between places makes communication and transportation difficult
11 time zones & 89 regional governments
Weak central government did not enforce reform programs
Putin creates 7 large federal districts
11 time zones with 89 regional governments
Governor general of each region. Districts would force reforms that Moscow wanted and control local governments.

6. How is the Russian mafia Involved?
Grew rapidly in the 1990s and created their own economy
Controls most state owned enterprises and many private businesses
Unfortunately, people make more money illegally than legally
Government cannot collect taxes on their businesses
Alexander Matusov brought back from Thailand to face trial for 1995 killings
Russian tombstone on the bottom
Above: Alexander Matusov