Chapter 21 Summary

As Communism collapses, the Soviet Union begins its long and difficult transition to a free market economy. In March 1990, local elections are held. Democratic Russia and hundreds of other reformist groups are victorious in the elections. Boris Yeltsin is elected to parliament, Gavriil Popov (the economist from Sakharov's Inter-region Group) is elected mayor of Moscow, and Anatoly Sobchak, a law professor and star of congress, is elected mayor of Leningrad. In the October District of Moscow, Ilya Zaslavsky is elected to the regional council and is voted its chair. Zaslavsky's campaign platform is based on making his region a capitalist region. It doesn't take long for Zaslavsky to realize it will be difficult for him to make good on this promise. After months of little successes, Zaslavsky's economic plan for his district finally begins to pay off. The regional council passes laws to...