VIEW FROM RUSSIA - RUSSIA AT THE CROSSROADS

This article attempts to define the basic causes of turmoil in Russia and to evaluate the course of future events. The manner in which the S oviet empire was allowed to disintegrate under Mikhail Gorbachev sowed seeds of deep trouble for both Russia and the international community . Internally, the swift Soviet collapse and the ensuing instability ha s generated conspiracy theories and nostalgia for the old system. The Yeltsin government needed both to rebuild the country economically and to give it a sense of direction and a national cohesiveness. However, results of the December 1993 parliamentary elections cast serious dou bt over the prospects for continued democratic development.