The myth of equilibrium: winner power, fiscal crisis and Russian economic reform

It has become common to describe Russia as a state that has only achieved p artial reform due to the influence of powerful economic forces, the 'winner s' of economic reform, and to assume that the Russian state lacks autonomy. This paper questions how far reform in Russia has been compromised by the power of winners. The failure of economic reform between 1992 and 1998 is e xplained as a policy response by state officials unable to manage tendencie s towards fiscal crisis because of the state's general helplessness in mana ging the Russian economy, rather than as a surrender of sovereignty to econ omic interests. (C) 2001 The Regents of the University of California. Publi shed by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.