Abstract
After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the CIS-7 faced exceptional challenges in building new states, democratic institutions, and market economies. All of the CIS-7 started from a situation of complex dependency on the Soviet Union, including massive transfers and subsidies and the trade arrangements of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA). The shocks associated with the breakup—notably the disruption of economic relations with established regional partners, termination of large fiscal transfers, and severe energy price adjustments—compounded the problems of severe structural rigidities and weak institutions.