While Russia has existed as a state for over a thousand years, the
history of post-Soviet Russia is brief, dating back only to the
collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991. Since gaining its
independence, Russia claimed to be the legal successor to Soviet Union
on the international stage. However, Russia lost its superpower status
amid serious economic and political challenges in the 1990s. Scrapping
the socialist central planning and state ownership of property of the
Soviet era, Russia attempted to build an economy with elements of
market capitalism, with often painful results. The development of
post-Soviet political institutions has also produced mixed results. By
the early-1990s Russia had a system of multiparty electoral politics,
but in recent years the presidency has been increasing its already
tight control over parliament, regional officeholders, and civil
society.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_post-Soviet_Russia
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1862:
Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard completed the first test on
pasteurization.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Pasteur)
1912:
Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts and Tiger Stadium in Detroit,
Michigan were opened.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenway_Park)
1914:
A fire and a gun battle between the National Guard and striking coal
miners in Colorado led to 17 deaths in the Ludlow Massacre.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludlow_Massacre)
1968:
Pierre Trudeau succeeded Lester B. Pearson as Prime Minister of
Canada.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Trudeau)
1999:
Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold murdered 13 people in the Columbine High
School massacre.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbine_High_School_massacre)
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Wikiquote of the day:
"Dear brothers and sisters, after the great Pope, John Paul II, the
cardinals have elected me, a simple and humble worker in the Lord's
vineyard. The fact that the Lord can work and act even with
insufficient means consoles me, and above all I entrust myself to your
prayers." -- Pope Benedict XVI
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pope_Benedict_XVI)