The Soviet Union, itself collapsed and fragmented into a number of states in 1991 with Boris Yeltsin becoming the President of an independent Russia. Yeltsin ended state control of the economy and privatized most enterprises. However, Russia's transition to a market economy was extremely painful and following continuing economic problems and poor personal health, Yeltsin resigned on December 31, 1999, appointing Vladimir Putin as his successor.

The Russian economy has been boosted by the extremely high oil prices in the recent past but several serious problems still exist. The economy is heavily...

("Russia," 2007)
References

Lorimer, D. (1992). "The Collapse of Communism in the U.S.S.R.: Its causes and significance." DSP.org. Retrieved on April 16, 2007 at http://www.dsp.org.au/dsp/Collapse/index.htm

Russia." (2007). CIA World Fact Book. Retrieved on April 16, 2007 from https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/rs.html