“The Property Has Been Fiercely Divided” between the Authorities in Russia and the Capital Is a “Tasty Morsel” for the People Who Govern it – the current economic situation in Moscow

Th e Russian economy in the 70s of the twentieth century entered a stagnation period. It was the opinion of many experts in the fi eld of economy and also it was repeatedly stated by Yegor Gaidar – the Russian Deputy Prime Minister that the 90s was responsible for economic reforms. One of the main causes of this situation was actions taken by the government. In the early 70s a barrel of crude oil cost a little over 2 dollars aft er 3 years the price rose by 600%. Th is was due to the fact that OPEC1 rapidly reduced gas production and imposed an embargo on countries supporting Israel in the Yom Kippur War. In this situation, the Soviet authorities discerned the possibility of huge profi ts aft er OPEC’s reaction, the Soviet Union became