October Days

the 1993 showdown 

It had been a year since the December 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and since the “young reformers” headed by Yegor Gaidar and supported by President Yeltsin had first begun to introduce a market economy to Russia in early 1992. 

The country had literally been saved from starvation – by some miracle, empty stores had suddenly filled up with items all but forgotten. Yet prices had skyrocketed – sometimes by a factor of hundreds – leading millions to conclude they were now too poor to buy anything.