October 4th, 1993 – the end of the Russian Constitutional Crisis

October 4th, 1993 marked the end of a political crisis – one could even call it a coup d’état.

But first, a little backstory.

Boris Yeltsin, the first official President of Russia after the dissolution of the United Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). As a democrat, he looked to western economics as a model for Russia’s – he converted its command economy to a free-market economy. He felt that it would stabilize the Russian economy, as it had in several other countries; however, this did not work well with citizens – interest rates and taxes were raised, and cuts were made to welfare and industry.

This led to rapid inflation In Russia – the living standards of millions of Russians freefell into poverty as the GDP dropped 50% and unemployment grew. Everyone distanced themselves from Yeltsin’s policies and his approval rating plummeted; even his vice president wished to have nothing to do with this economic “reform”.

Struggle between the Executive and Legislative branches continued, and reached a tipping point when Yeltsin declared that parliament was to be dissolved – this was completely unconstitutional, and the Russian Parliament decreed that Yeltsin had violated the constitution, declaring his act null. They then proceeded to proclaim the vice president, Alexander Rutskoy, to replace Yeltsin. These events caused mass confusion, and many Russian citizens began to protest against Yeltsin’s liberal reforms.

These protests escalated into violence, and the Russian Military was sent in to quell the violence. At this time, the Russian parliament building was barricaded to defend against aggravated aggressive pro-parliament protesters. The army, on the other hand, was equivocal about whom to follow – Yeltsin, or a new Rutskoy regime. In the end, they decided to support Yeltsin, and on the 4^th, were ordered to shell the parliament building, intending to minimize casualties, but still force the militants out of the area.

Following the events of the 4^th of October, many Russians believed that the use of the military was justified, and blamed Rutskoy on the crisis. The public opinion has shifted in time; a decade later, many believed that it was in fact Yeltsin’s economic policies that were the cause of the crisis.

While I don’t condone the use of violence, these reforms marked an important point in the westernization of Russia. However, the way Yeltsin did it – with very little support from anyone, was a rash decision that could have been handled better. These events also stabilized the constant amendments of the Russian constitution, and without the economic reforms imposed by Yeltsin, I personally believe that Russia would have eventually returned to a communist state.