Economic Transition in Russia, the Ukraine and Belarus in Comparative Perspective

The authors of this paper try to analyze the similarities and differences in the starting conditions, adopted policies, and achieved results of the above three countries. The first part of the paper will be devoted to the initial conditions: the economic heritage of the FSU (especially of the perestroika years), differences in the economic structures of the discussed countries, and the level of their mutual interdependence. The second part contains a comparative analysis of the liberalization, stabilization, and privatization processes in each country. The third part presents the differences in macroeconomic performance and the progress of the transition. In the final part we try to analyze the political and other reasons for the observed differences.