ABSTRACT
The Russian Federation, even in 1991, had begun to express concern about activities in what was termed the Near Abroad. A form of mini-imperialism was apparent, whereby Russia was the main arbiter of disputes in the former Soviet Union. Crimea had a majority Russian population, and along with Russians living in Estonia and Latvia, represented Yeltsin's main concern in 1991-1992. The Russian rouble, which some economists anticipated could take over as the new currency in the nations of the Near Abroad, plummeted on October 11, 1994. The Russian population itself was declining at an alarming rate. Though some residents had chosen emigration, the main factor was that the death rate was much higher than the birth rate. In the Soviet period rural Russia became a modern industrial society; for a short time it led the world in the space race, and rivalled the United States in the accumulation of weaponry.
