The Russians love their dictators, I’ve heard Americans say. I suppose one could argue the point. But Westerners who think Russians are hostile to a free economy are just plain wrong. The 25% of the population that voted for the nationalists in the last parliamentary election were not voting against capitalism; they were protesting the hardship caused by “shock therapy,” the ill-conceived economic policy that resulted in skyrocketing inflation, high unemployment, a fuel shortage, and a decrease in food consumption, all of which have left 90% of Russians living below the poverty level. Still, if the 1991 coup plotters—the Communist party, the KGB, and the army—couldn’t squelch the beginnings of democracy and a free economy, neither can the lack of bread.
A version of this article appeared in the March–April 1994 issue of Harvard Business Review.