Living conditions under yeltsin

1. Living conditions under yeltsin Lauren Schipper & Seonah Nathali

2. What sparked this change? • When Yeltsin came to power, he announced a new era of democracy and economic freedom • There was a shift towards a market-oriented economy and massive privatisation • This shook the country greatly since it was used to state control and a command economy • This change meant poverty for many and increase in crime and corruption • Salaries weren’t paid and many pensioners saw their lifelong savings wiped out. The reforms soon became widely resented, seen as “shock without therapy”

3. Money & Jobs • In early 1992, prices of basic necessities skyrocketed throughout Russia • Inflation rate in Jan 1992 was 300% and continued rising until 1995 • Hoarding of goods • Average wages fell by 50% between 1991 and 1992 • Thousands of Russians lost their entire lifetime savings • Mass unemployment and homelessness became prominent issues

4. Illness & Death • Due to extreme poverty, lack of medical care and the overcrowding hundreds of people in buildings, epidemic sicknesses arose • In 1999 the total population fell by almost 1 million • Death by infectious and parasitic diseases shot up to due poor hygiene • Life expectancies dropped • Deaths were not only due to health, there were many murders, suicides and accidents • Medicines were no longer affordable to the poor • “The toll from murder, suicide, heart attacks and accidents gave Russia the death rate of a country at war”

5. Illness & Death • In 1991 life expectancy in Russia was 63.5 years for males. By 1994 the figure for males was 57.3 years. • In 1993 the incidence of a number of infectious diseases increased significantly over the previous year: tuberculosis by 1.25 times, brucellosis by 1.9 times, diphtheria by 3.9 times, and syphilis by 2.6 times