You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in Russian. (September 2012)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
View a machine-translated version of the Russian article.
Machine translation, likeDeepL orGoogle Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
Youmust providecopyright attribution in theedit summary accompanying your translation by providing aninterlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary isContent in this edit is translated from the existing Russian Wikipedia article at [[:ru:Гайдар, Егор Тимурович]]; see its history for attribution.
You may also add the template{{Translated|ru|Гайдар, Егор Тимурович}} to thetalk page.
He was the architect of the controversialshock therapy reforms administered in Russia after thedissolution of the Soviet Union, which brought him both praise and harsh criticism. He participated in the preparation of theBelovezha Accords. Many Russians held him responsible for the economic hardships that plagued the country in the 1990s that resulted in mass poverty andhyperinflation among other things, althoughliberals praised him as a man who did what had to be done to save the country from complete collapse.[1]Jeffrey Sachs, director ofColumbia University'sEarth Institute, who advised the Russian government in the early 1990s, called Gaidar "the intellectual leader of many of Russia's political and economic reforms" and "one of the few pivotal actors" of the period.[3]
While in government, Gaidar advocatedfree market economic reforms according to the principle ofshock therapy. His best-known decision was to abolish price regulation by the state, which immediately resulted in a major increase in prices and amounted to officially authorizing amarket economy in Russia. He also cut military procurement and industrial subsidies, and reduced the budget deficit. Gaidar was the First Vice-Premier of the Russian Government and Minister of Economics from 1991 until 1992, and Minister of Finance from February 1992 until April 1992.[citation needed]
He was appointed ActingPrime Minister under PresidentBoris Yeltsin in 1992 from 15 June until 14 December, when the anti-Yeltsin RussianCongress of People's Deputies refused to confirm Gaidar in this position andViktor Chernomyrdin was eventually chosen as a compromise figure. Gaidar continued to advise the new government. On 18 September 1993, he was again appointed the First Vice-Premier under Chernomyrdin as a deliberate snub to the opposition. He played an active role in theRussian constitutional crisis of 1993.[citation needed]
On 3 October, he famously spoke live on Russian television, then broadcasting from an emergency station near Moscow, as there was fighting going on in the Ostankino complex, calling on Muscovites to gather to defend Yeltsin's government so that Russia would not be "turned into an enormous concentration camp for decades".[9]
In the1993 Duma elections, in the aftermath of the crisis, Gaidar led the pro-government blocRussia's Choice and was seen by some as a possible future Prime Minister. However, due to the bloc's failure to win the plurality of votes in the election, Gaidar's role in the government diminished and he finally resigned on 20 January 1994.[citation needed]
Gaidar was often criticized for imposing ruthless reforms in 1992 with little care for their social impact; however, the country back then was in a desperate state of economy and was on the brink of afamine. Russia had no currency for buying import goods, at the same time, no-one gave credits as the country was essentially bankrupt.[11] The collapse of the Soviet social system led to serious deterioration inliving standards. Millions of Russians were thrown into poverty due to their savings being devalued by massivehyperinflation. Moreover, theprivatization and break-up of state assets left over from the Soviet Union, which he played a big part in, led to much of the country's wealth being handed to a small group of powerful business executives, later known as theRussian oligarchs, for much less than what they were worth. The voucher privatization program enabled these few oligarchs to become billionaires specifically by arbitraging the vast difference between old domestic prices for Russian commodities and the prices prevailing on the world market. Because they stashed billions of dollars in Swiss bank accounts rather than investing in the Russian economy, these oligarchs were dubbed "kleptocrats."[12] As society grew to despise these figures and resent the economic and social turmoil caused by the reforms, Gaidar was often held by Russians as one of the men most responsible. On the other hand, the ubiquitous goods deficit of the Soviet years disappeared and it became possible to buy all goods in the shops. Per capita calorie consumption under Gaidar diminished by 3.5% from 2526.88 kCal to 2438.17 kCal.[13]
According to Franklin Foer writing inThe Atlantic, however, "when Yegor Gaidar ... asked the United States for help hunting down the billions that the KGB had carted away, the White House refused."[14]
One of Gaidar's most outspoken critics was theYabloko economist and MPGrigory Yavlinsky, who had proposed since 1990 a500 Days programme for the transition of the whole USSR to market economic, which was first backed and then dismissed by the government ofNikolai Ryzhkov. Yavlinsky emphasized the differences between his and Gaidar's reforms program, such as the sequencing ofprivatization vs.liberalization of prices and the applicability of his program to the entire Soviet Union.[citation needed]
Gaidar's supporters contend that although many mistakes were made, he had few choices in the matter and ultimately saved the country both from bankruptcy and from starvation. According to theBBC's Andrei Ostalski, "There were only two solutions—either introducemartial law and severe rationing, or radically liberalize the economy. The first option meant going all the way back to theStalinist system of mass repression. The second meant a colossal change, a journey—or, rather, a race—through uncharted waters with an unpredictable outcome."[15]
In November 2006 Gaidar went toDublin,Ireland, to present his bookCollapse of an Empire: Lessons for Modern Russia at an academic conference.[16] Shortly after breakfast, a fruit salad and a cup of tea, Gaidar felt sick and returned from the conference hall to his room at the hotel. He was called on the phone to come down and deliver his speech, which Gaidar later recalled as a call that saved his life, as he would surely have died if he had been in his room unattended. After Gaidar had tried to deliver his speech he collapsed in the university hallway and was rushed to a local hospital. His colleagueEkaterina Genieva recalled that "He was lying on the floor unconscious. There was blood coming from his nose; he was vomiting blood. This went on for more than half an hour".[17] Next day he moved from the hospital to the Russian embassy's premises and arranged a transfer to Moscow where doctors familiar with his health status suggested that it looked like he was 'poisoned'.[18]
In an interview published in theFinancial Times, Gaidar claimed that it had been an attempted political murder, where "most likely that means that some obvious or hidden adversaries of the Russian authorities stand behind the scenes of this event, those who are interested in further radical deterioration of relations between Russia and the west".[19][20]
Gaidar in 2008
Anatoly Chubais, another Russian reformist official and a former colleague of Gaidar, rejected the possibility of Kremlin involvement in this case, commenting that "Yegor Gaidar was on the verge of death on 24 November. The deadly triangle – Politkovskaya, Litvinenko and Gaidar – would have been very desirable for some people who are seeking an unconstitutional and forceful change of power in Russia."[18]
Irish police opened an official investigation of the case.[21] One of the versions voiced by the Russian opposition leaders and Kremlin supporters suggested thatBoris Berezovsky, then a Russian oligarch in exile, may have been behind it.[22]Andrey Illarionov, a former Putin adviser now living in the US, commented that the whole case was staged, and the reason for taking Gaidar to hospital must have been hyperthensia, stress or alcohol.[23] Though Gaidar knew Berezovsky well, that fact is described in the bookThe age of Berezovsky, written byPetr Aven.[24]
Gaidar married the daughter of writerArkady Strugatsky during his time at the university.[7] His daughter,Maria Gaidar, was one of the leaders of the Russian democratic opposition. From July 2009 until June 2011 she was Deputy Chair of the Government ofKirov oblast.[25] In 2015 and 2016 she was vice-governor ofOdesa Oblast inUkraine.[26]
Gaidar died at the age of 53 inOdintsovoraion,Moscow Oblast, Russia.[27] Gaidar's aide Valery Natarov stated that Gaidar died unexpectedly, early on 16 December 2009, at his Moscow Oblast home while he was working on a book for children.Gaidar died ofpulmonary edema, provoked bymyocardial ischemia.[4]He is survived by his wife, three sons anddaughter.[28]
Gaidar was regarded as an object of loathing among ordinary Russians who lost everything during the shock therapy economic reforms.[29]
Russian PresidentDmitry Medvedev has expressed condolences to relatives and friends of Yegor Gaidar.[33][34] "The death of Gaidar is a heavy loss for Russia," says Russian Prime MinisterVladimir Putin.[35] Medvedev called Gaidar a "daring, honest and decisive" economist who "evoked respect among his supporters and opponents". "We have lost a genuine citizen and patriot, a strong spirited person, a talented scientist, writer and expert.... He didn't dodge responsibility and 'took the punch' in the most challenging situations with honor and courage," the statement said.[36]
In honor of Yegor Gaidar, each year in mid-January the Russian Presidency holds theGaidar forum that attracts the Russian political and business elite, with top European politicians also attending. The forum is organized the week before theWorld Economic Forum inDavos and thus also serves to formulate the Russian positions on a variety of topics.
The Economics of Russian Transition by Yegor Gaidar. (MIT Press) (15 August 2002),ISBN978-0-262-52728-6
State and Evolution: Russia's Search for a Free Market (Donald R. Ellegood International Publications) by Yegor Gaidar. Translated by Jane Ann Miller. (University of Washington Press) (August 2003),ISBN978-0-295-98349-3
Gaĭdar, Egor Timurovich (2007).Collapse of an Empire: Lessons for Modern Russia. Translated byBouis, Antonina W. Brookings Institution Press.ISBN978-0-815-73114-6.
Russia: A Long View by Yegor Gaidar. Foreword byAnders Åslund. Translated by Antonina W. Bouis. (MIT Press) (12 October 2012),ISBN978-0-262-01741-1
Illarionov, Andrey (4 May 2011)."Трудный путь к свободе" Часть вторая [The Hard Road to Freedom Part Two](PDF).Kontinent 2010 (in Russian) (146).Archived(PDF) from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved25 March 2022.See chapter 20. Our Man in Cuba pp. 164–170
Ten Years of Russian Economic Reform bySergei Vasiliev. Foreword by Yegor Gaidar. (Centre for Research into Post Communist Economies) (25 March 1999),ISBN978-0-948-02730-7
^According toAndrey Illarionov, Timor Aikadievich Gaidar (Russian:Тимур Аркадьевич Гайдар) was a high rankingGRU agent posing as aPravda reporter while he was inCuba,Yugoslavia, andAfghanistan during theSoviet War in Afghanistan, as well asSyria,Indonesia, thePersian Gulf,Abkhazia andNagorno-Karabakh. At his home in Cuba, the younger Gaidar was six when he claimed he saw his father meet with Major General I. D. Statsenko (Russian:И. Д. Стаценко), who was the commander of the 53rd (41st) missile division, Rear Admiral A. M. Tikhonov (Russian:А. М. Тихонов), who was the head of counterintelligence of the Group of Soviet Forces in Cuba (GSVK) (Russian:Группы советских войск на Кубе (ГСВК)), and Raul Castro, who was the Minister of War for theCuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, while 15 ships of the United States 7th fleet could be seen from his window although the 7th Fleet would have been in the Pacific Ocean during theCuban Missile Crisis which the Soviets calledoperation Anadyr (Russian:операции Анадырь).[6]
^Vasetsky, Anton (24 December 2009).Гайдар-дед, Гайдар-отец, Гайдар-сын [Gaidar-grandfather, Gaidar-father, Gaidar-son].Trud (in Russian). Archived fromthe original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved26 March 2022.
.jpg)
