Political and Civilian History of the the Russian Republic

Statistics of the Russian Federation

• Population (1999): 146.3 million (1)
• Life expectancy at birth (1999): 66 years
• Infant mortality rate (1999): 16 per 1,000 births
• Unemployment rate (1999): 11.5 percent
• Poverty (1999): 40% earn less than $51 per month

Economic Statistics (1)
	1992 (3)	1993 (3)	1994 (3)	1997	1998	1999
Gross Domestic Product (1)	15,250 billion rubles	162,667 billion rubles	-	2,563 billion rubles	2,685 billion rubles	-
GDP per Capita (1)	$8,000	$7,800	-	$6,800	$6,600	-
Ruble/Dollar Ratio (1)	180:1	836:1	1,691:1	5.78:1	9.71:1	24.7:1
Inflation (1)	1,468%	911%	-	14.6%	27.8%	-
Debt (1)	-	-	-	$126 billion	$153 billion	-

Russian Defense Budget and Outlays (1)
	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002
*Defense Budget:**	-	8,327	40,626	59,379	80,185	83,000	81,765	109,000	111,000	-	-
*Defense Outlays:**	-	7,210	28,028	47,800	63,900	79,700	56,700	-	-	-	-
Percentage of Federal Budget:	-	-	20.9%	21.3%	18.4%	19.7%	16.4%	19.0	-	-	-

*in millions of Rubles

Items from the
Russian Federation

Earlier Political Events

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Later Political Events

Sources Cited

(1) The Military Balance 1999-2000, London: Oxford University Press, 2000 Print.

(2) The Military Balance 2002-2003, London: Oxford University Press, 2003 Print.

(3) The Military Balance 1994-1995, London: Oxford University Press, 1995 Print.

1992
	2 January	Prime Minister ends price controls. Ruble plummets as prices sky-rocket. Ruble exchange rate hits new low, 90 rubles to the dollar.
	31 March	Federation Treaty signed by all autonomous republics except Chechnya & Tatarstan
	6 May	Gorbachev speaks at Westminster College
	15 May	The 'Treaty on Collective Security' is signed by Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgystan
	1 April	Western nations announce $24 billion economic aid package for Russia
	6 April	The Congress of People's Deputies begins its attack on the government
	15 June	Yegor Gaidar appointed acting prime minister
	1 October	Voucher privatization begins
	14 December	Victor Chernomyrdin replaces Yegor Gaidar as prime minister
1993
	11 March	Congress of People's Deputies passes resolution limiting powers of government to implement reforms
	20 March	Yeltsin introduces 'special presidential rule'
	23 March	Speaker of Congress Khasbulatov calls for impeachment of Yeltsin
	3-4 April	US-Russian summit in Vancouver
	25 April	Referendum supports the president and the reforms
	24 July	Major reform of Russian currency system as Russian Central Bank declares that all banknotes issued before 1993 would be withdrawn from circulation.
	Summer	Ruble exchange rate is 1000 rubles to one dollar.
	31 August	Russian troops withdrawn from Lithuania (not Latvia & Estonia)
	18 September	Yegor Gaidar rejoins government as first deputy prime minister
	20 September	Parliament announces plan to strip President Yeltsin of most of his authority and to pump more rubles into the economy.
	21 September	President dissolves Congress of People's Deputies and Supreme Soviet of Russian Federation and calls for election of Federal Assembly
	22 September	Parliament appoints Vice President Alexander Rutskoi president.
	2-4 October	Storming of the Russian White House.
	3 October	Parliamentary forces attack Ostankino TV station and mayor's office. Many journalists and TV crewmen are killed in the crossfire.
	4 October	Government forces storm the parliament building in a 10 hour assault. Kantemir and Taman Guards divisions arrive to support Yeltsin government. Conspirators Alexander Rutskoi and Ruslan Khasbulatov surrender and are arrested.
	13 November	An earthquake that measured 7.1 on the Richter scale was detected in the sea east of Kamchatka.
	14 December	Elections of first Federal Assembly of Russia and referendum is held to ratify Russian Constitution
1994
	January	Crimean citizens overwhelmingly vote to leave Ukraine and join Russia.
	11 January	Federal Assembly begins work.
	23 February	State Duma passes amnesty for political and economic crimes. Those responsible for 1991 and 1993 coup attempts are forgiven.
	Summer	MMM Bank founded by Sergei Mavrodi in 1991 collapses. With its collapse many Russians lose their life savings in his pyramid scheme.
	16 June	Yegor Gaidar resigns as first deputy prime minister
	July	Boris Yeltsin meets with G-7 leaders in Naples
	11 August	General Valentin Varannikov is acquitted of treason charges by Supreme Court. The charges were in response to his role in the August 1991 coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev.
	3 September	Russia and China formally ended decades of confrontation and agreed to cease aiming nuclear missiles at each other.
	October	Moscow hosts exhibition of US art to increase US-Russian understandings. Art is viewed by many as decadent.
	11 October	Ruble crashes on world markets
	14 October	Viktor Gerashchenko, the conservative chairman of the Central Bank is forced to resign due to the crisis affecting the ruble.
		Solzhenitsyn addresses the State Duma
	28 November	Russian Security Council votes to send troops to Chechnya.
	12 December	Russian troops invade Chechnya.
1995
	27 January	Federal Assembly bans loans from Central Bank to the government without its approval.
	February	Sergei Mavrodi is voted eligable to take his seat in the Duma.
	Spring	Russian forces fight villagers in Samashky.
	14 June	Chechens take hostages at Budennovsk.
	July	Yeltsin suffers first heart attack.
	29 August	Eduard Shevardnadze, the leader of Georgia, survives an assassination attempt when a car explodes near his motorcade.
	23 October	Russian President Boris Yeltsin and the President of the United States agree that Russia could take part in a peacekeeping force to police any settlement in Bosnia.
	23 October	Yeltsin suffers second heart attack.
	28 October	In Baku a crowded underground railway train cauches fire between Ulduz and Narimanov stations. 289 people died and 270 were injured.
	17 December	43 parties field candidates in Duma elections. Communist Party of the Russian Federation under Gennady Zyuganov dominates Duma elections.
1996
	5 January	Kozyrev resigns as foreign minister and is replaced by Primakov.
	29 March	Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan & Kyrgyzstan sign integration accords in Moscow
	2 April	Russia & Belarus sign 'Agreement on the Formation of a Community'
	16 June	Presidential primaries held: Yeltsin & Zyuganov of the Communist Party win
	26 June	Ukrainian Parliament adopts constitution
	3 July	Yeltsin defeats Zyuganov in run-off election
	12 July	Ukrainian constitution signed by President Kuchma.
	5 August	Chechen rebels re-take Grozny.
	23 August	Full-scale combat operations end in Chechnya.
	31 August	Alexander Lebed and Aslan Maskhadov sign peace accord in Chechnya.
	24 September	The United States, China, France, Russia and Britain became the first signatories to a new treaty banning nuclear tests.
	17 October	Alexander Lebed is removed from his post after only four months in office by Boris Yeltsin.
	5 November	Yeltsin undergoes quintuple by-pass surgery.
	28 November	Belorussian President Lukashenko signs new constitution extending his powers and replaces the parliament.
	1 December	Russian troops begin withdrawal from Chechnya.
1997
	1 January	New Criminal Code replaces 1960 Soviet code.
	22 January	Chechen elections held; Aslan Maskhadov wins with 65% of vote.
	21 March	Yeltsin and US President Bill Clinton meet in Helsinki to discuss expansion of NATO.
	April	Union Treaty signed.
	27 May	Russian President Boris Yeltsin and US President Bill Clinton sign "Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between NATO and the Russian Federation" which creates a permanent joint council including Russia in NATO decision-making.
	30 May	Russian-Belarus Union Charter signed by Lukashenko and Yeltsin. It declared a strategic partnership between the two nations.
	11 June	Russian-Belarus Union Charter goes into effect.
	20 June	In an effort to improve relations with Japan, Russia pledges to stop targeting Japan with nuclear missiles.
	28 June	Tajik Peace and National Reconciliation Accord signed in Moscow.
	10 November	Boris Yeltsin of Russia and Jiang Zemin of China end the long running border dispute between the two nations with the signing of a declaration that settles the border issue.
	20 November	President Boris Yeltsin removes the economic reformer Anatoly Chubais from his job as finance minister. Chubais is allowed to keep his position as first deputy prime minister.
1998
	23 March	Yeltsin fires Chernomyrdin, reorganizes cabinet
	24 April	Sergei Kirienko finally confirmed as prime minister
	27 May	Massive sell-off of Russian bonds, securities and rubles
	17 July	The bodies of Tsar Nicholas II and family are buried in St. Petersburg. The ceremony was attended by Russian President Boris Yeltsin.
	17 August	Russian financial crisis Kirienko announces ruble devaluation. Market is paralyzed by liquidity shortages, stock share prices plunge, and Russia defaults foreign loans.
	23 August	Yeltsin removes entire government, appoints Victor Chernomyrdin interim Prime Minister.
	10 September	Victor Chernomyrdin steps aside as Duma rejects nomination twice.
	11 September	Yuri Primakov confirmed prime minister. The first official Japanese visit to Russia in 25 years takes place when Japan's Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi arrives in Moscow.
	7 October	Thousands of people in Russia take to the streets to protest againts unpaid wages. They also call on President Boris Yeltsin to resign.
1999
	24 March	NATO Operation 'Allied Force' begins against Serbia. Russians protest NATO aggression.
	12 July	Russian troops seize Pristina and airport with 200 troops. They are welcomed by Serbian people. Eventually this move allows Russians to take active role in peacekeeping process with 3500 troops.
	April	Yevgeny Primakov replaces Kiriyenko. Prosecutor General Yuri Skuratov is removed after Yeltsin allies air a videotape showing Skuratov in a sex scandal. In retalliation, Skuratov orders arrest of Yeltsin ally Boris Berezovsky.
	12 May	Yeltsin removes entire cabinet, including Primakov.
	13 May	Impeachment hearings begins in Duma
	15 May	Impeachment vote against Yeltsin fails
	19 May	Duma approves Sergei Stepashin as new Prime Minister.
	9 August	Stepashin is dismissed as prime minister.
	16 August	Vladimir Putin confirmed prime minister.
	September	Russian money-laundering scheme via Bank of New York unravels.
	September	Three hundred civilians die in Moscow apartment explosions linked to Chechen terrorists.
2000
	1 January	Massive holiday display in Moscow for millennium celebration.
	26 March	Vladimir Putin elected president after promising to take a hard line with Chechens.
	9 August	Over 30 warships of the Northern fleet move out to take part in routine naval exercise.
	12 August	'Oscar' class missile submarine K-141 'Kursk' sinks in the Barents sea. 118 sailors are lost.
	17 October	Russian Su-24 and Su-27 aircraft fly unopposed over a US carrier battle group. The failure to intercept the aircraft causes much embarrassment to the United States Navy.
2001
	23 March	MIR space station successfully splashes down in Pacific Ocean.
	28 April	Russian Space Agency flies American Dennis Tito to International Space Station as first private citizen in space.
	6 May	Dennis Tito returns to Earth.
	25 May (2)	A Collective Rapid Reaction Force (CRDF) of CIS states is formed under the CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization.
	11 September	Vladimir Putin pledges Russian support in 'War on Terrorism' after Islamic terrorists destroy World Trade Center in United States. Russia stops all military exercises that probe US
2002
	25 January(2)	Russia and Azerbaijan conclude agreement on status of Gabala radar station in north Azerbaijan.
	26 April	Russian space agency sends a South African millionaire to International Space Station. A pair of Tu-95 Bear H strategic bombers fly within 37 miles of Alaska recently ending the post 9/11 ban on such strategic probing exercises.
	April (2)	Russian peacekeepers located in Abkhazia operating under a 1994 CIS mandate claim to have located Georgian forces in neutral area of the upper Kodori Valley.
	28 April	Governor of Kraznoyarsk district, Alexander Lebed (age 52) is killed in helicopter accident. He was known for signing treaty in 1996 ending hostilities in Chechnya.
	May	Islamic terrorists explode a bomb during a Victory Day parade in the Caucasus.
	14 May (2)	NATO Permanent Joint Council meeting in Reykyavik the organization creates a joint NATO-Russia Council to reflect post-September 11 relationship against terrorism.
	24 May (2)	At NATO Rome summit the joint NATO-Russia Council is approved.
	June	Under Russian leadership, the CRDF carries out its first formation level exercise with battalions from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Russia.
	1 August (2)	Russia conducts largest exercise of the Caspian Flotilla with elements from the Black Sea Fleet featuring over 10,000 troops, 60 ships, and 30 aircraft.
	1 September (2)	Russian military begins an experiment to move towards a professional army.
	October (2)	Local policing units began taking control of Chechen territory from Federal MVD units.