Abstract: |
Restructuring of enterprises in Russia has always been a task of gigantic scale. The scope has been unparallel compared to problems in other transforming countries, given the size of the Russian economy and almost complete control over the economy exercised in the past by the state. Moreover, the Russian government was painfully slow in delivering even basic macroeconomic stability. Nevertheless, in 1996 macro-economic stabilization finally took place in Russia, and while the macroeconomic situation is still far from normal, with GDP decreasing by about 6-7% in 1996 and stagnating in the first quarter of 1997 and with annual inflation running at about 15%, it is more and more the microeconomic issues which pose the greatest obstacle to the economic development in Russia. |