Liberal elites endorsed Yeltsin’s tank assault on parliament to protect economic reform

Evidence

Consider the dramatic support of the liberal world for the authoritarian rule of Boris Yeltsin in Russia. After playing a prominent role in the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Yeltsin pledged to abide by the prescriptions of IMF experts who demanded harsh austerity to transition Russia to a capitalist, market-based economy. Popular opinion soon turned against this austere “shock therapy,” and when the Russian parliament challenged these policies and Yeltsin’s executive power, violence prevailed over democracy. In the name of economic stability, in October 1993, Yeltsin deployed tanks, helicopters, and soldiers to attack the Russian parliament. The result was hundreds of civilian deaths and injuries. He dissolved the parliament, suspended the constitution, disbanded the constitutional court, shut down newspapers, and jailed his political opponents. The Economist had no reservations in endorsing Yeltsin’s strongman tactics as necessary to ensure the capital order: “Mr. Yeltsin had to choose between smashing his rival with force or seeing himself, his government, and any prospect of reform destroyed. The threat, in the end, was extreme—and so, necessarily, was the response.” — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 358

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Liberal media endorsed violent suppression of parliament to protect austerity reforms — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism: An Intervention, 358; Russia’s shock privatization under Yeltsin impoverished half the population in seven years — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order: How Economists…, 1594

Broader Connections

• Liberal media endorsed violent suppression of parliament to protect austerity reforms #exemplifies (0.95) — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 358
• Russia’s shock privatization under Yeltsin impoverished half the population in seven years #expands (0.80) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 1594