The wild nineties

The wild nineties (Russian: лихие девяностые, romanized: likhiye devyanostyye) is a term with a negative evaluative connotation referring to the decade following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the formation of the Russian Federation in the 1990s. It denotes a period of profound political, economic, and social transformation, characterized by widespread social instability associated with the transition to a new political and economic system. The period is typically associated with the rapid shift from a command economy to market capitalism, marked by a breakdown of central authority, the rise of organized crime in Russia, and a significant decline in living standards. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia entered a period of transition characterized by significant political, economic, and social instability. While the term is primarily applied to Russia, it is also used more broadly to describe the political and social upheavals experienced across the post-Soviet states following the collapse of the Soviet Union.