Introduction

The El'tsin Era opened with a surge of unbridled optimism. When El'tsin descended from atop the tank in the August 1991 putsch, it seemed that Russia had somehow shed its Soviet shell and had emerged rejuvenated into a post-Cold War world. Expectations were raised that Russia would become a partner to the West in world affairs and would undertake the building of the institutions of democracy and capitalism at home. This early optimism however, soon gave way to more cautious reserve, and was followed by cynicism and doubt.