Putin, Performance and the likhie 1990s Re-Examined

Abstract

The Putin regime has used comparisons with the 1990s to create political support and legitimacy for Vladimir Putin, by suggesting that life in Russia has become better since then because of Putin. Comparisons with the 1990s in absolute terms, however, fail to take account of the much more favourable structural conditions that have pertained since Putin came to power. This article avoids this problem by looking at Russia’s performance in the 1990s and thereafter in relative terms(i.e. in comparison with the other 14 states of the Former Soviet Union) rather than absolute terms. The analysis shows that Russia, in relative terms, has performed no better under Putin than in the 1990s, a finding that constitutes an indictment of Putin’s leadership rather than a legitimation of it.