An In Depth Look at Russia

Introduction Top of Page Background: The defeat of the Russian Empire in World War I led to the seizure of power by the communists and the formation of the USSR. The brutal rule of Josef STALIN (1924-53) strengthened Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) …

…the weather conditions in the North contribute to a partial dependence on external supplies, which often do not reach the area, especially due to the overemphasis the Soviet Empire had put on developing an infrastructure that served the needs of the centrally planned economy and the military.Despite food imports, there is no adequate access to food for large sections of the population.The vulnerable groups are the main victims of the bad supply situation.