Russia’s War Shows the Chaos in the World Order
Economist Branko Milanovic saw firsthand the soaring inequality of Russia’s 1990s transition to capitalism. He spoke to Jacobin about how Vladimir Putin’s war has plunged the country back into crisis — and placed a bomb under the globalized order.
Buildings damaged in Kharkiv, Ukraine. (Wolfgang Schwan / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
In the 1990s, as the former Soviet republics turned to the gospel of market liberalism, it was widely claimed that Russia could take up its place in a Western-led, globalized capitalist order. Yet while Boris Yeltsin steered Russia into the G8, the experiment brought mass joblessness and soaring mortality rates at home — feeding a climate of instability that aided Vladimir Putin’s rise. Now, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Western sanctions in response are bringing fresh hardships for ordinary Russians — and they’re also sure to have major effects on the global economy.
Branko Milanovic is a former World Bank economist renowned for his work on global inequality. He spoke to Pablo Pryluka and Kate Reed about Russia’s place in the globalized capitalist order, the fallout of the war domestically, and the effects the invasion may have on its relations with China.
Kate Reed
Let’s start by talking about Russia’s internal inequalities. How did the collapse of the Soviet Union affect income and wealth inequality in Russia? Did Putin’s arrival as president in 2000 change that?
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