Economics Today and Tomorrow

"Back in the USSR"

Introduction
The command economy of the former Soviet Union collapsed in the 1990s, leaving its people without basic necessities and without a unified economic system. Academic economists were asked to quickly step in and create a market economy. Yegor Gaidar is an economist who played a leading role in the transformation of the Russian economy after the fall of communism. In this lesson, Mr. Gaidar will explain the impact that the economic collapse had on the former Soviet people and the challenges of transforming a command economy to a market economy.

Destination Title: The Causes and Consequences of the Collapse of the Soviet Union

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Directions
Start at The Causes and Consequences of the Collapse of the Soviet Union Web site.

• Scroll down to the "From Central Planning to Markets" topic and click on it.
• Read through the site, taking notes as you go.

1			Describe economic education for college students during the Soviet era.
2			Why, according to Gaider, were economists afraid to handle the restructuring of the economy after the coup against Gorbachev?
3			What challenges did economists face when they tried to move from a command economy to a market economy?
4			How did the economists attempt to open up trade in the economy?
5			Using your research, imagine you are an economist in Russia during the economic collapse of the early 1990s. Write a page in your diary describing your hopes for the struggling market economy of Russia and your fears of the obstacles. Use the descriptions of daily life that Gaider gave to help you understand the frustrations everyone was feeling. Share your diary with the rest of the class.