Putin’s economic stabilization in Russia
Russia underwent significant economic reformations in the 1990s. For instance, in1991, Boris Yeltsin announced key reforms that would take shape in 1991. Another key personality, Yegor Gaidar,played a crucial role in the liberalization of the prices of goods and trade that saw the nation being changed to a normal market economy in 1994. In 1997, the minister for Privatization, Antoly Chubais, also privatized several organizations, which ensured an increase in the nations GDP from the private sector. Since that period, Russia has become one of the economic powerhouses in the world. Despite several setbacks that hit the nation under his tenure, Putin played a very critical role in the recovery of the Russia’s economy. The main areas that were greatly influenced by Putin’s effort are the tax simplification process and checking on the powers and influence of the local authorities.
From 1993 to 1998, Russia realized an abnormal balance deficit of almost ninety-five percent resulting from the opposition by rent self-seekers. This big budget deficit resulted in a major financial catastrophe in the nation in 1998. The effects of these problems were felt by the defaults in the treasury bills and an enormous devaluation. Nearly half of the nation’s banks and other financial institutions shrunk. This led to a negative future of the transformation of economic markets that were taking shape locally and globally. However, this economic crisis in Russia was the turning point of what was to be a total transformation. The crisis served as a bitter lesson for leaders in Russia to be responsible for the macroeconomic management. However, since 2000, Russia has continued to experience a positive budget surplus, an indication of the strong impacts that the crisis had.
Putins Economic Reforms
Mr.Vladimir Putin became the president of Russia in 2000. He is famously recognized for continuing the second-generation market that had been started in 1996 through the legislation win. During Putin’s initial years in office, the nation experienced massive economic transformations. The most reformed sector was the tax comprehensive, radical tax change in Russia. In addition, Putin administration did away with the progressive personal income tax that was at 30%. This was replaced by a flax income tax of 13 % in 2001. Another change was also seen in the profit tax, which was reduced from thirty five to twenty five percent in the same year. The business cost was also subject to deductions, an aspect that created a level playfield in the business sector. In the social security, the rates were also decreased from 39.5 % to almost 26% and incorporation of tax collection to very single entity. Furthermore, the tax reforms was also good news for the entrepreneurs, as they would no more worry about the tax inspections.
These transformations triggered the government to realize the need of small and medium market enterprises that had been inhibited by the administrative aggravation. Therefore, there were numerous mechanisms set up to ensure a simplified process engrossed in setting up the small and medium business entities through registration, issuance of licenses, and standardizations in 2002. This process was followed by reduction in the numbers of the inspections by the administration entities that resulted in a considerable increase in the SMEs in the succeeding years to an approximated five million in the year 2006. In the course of these economic recovery period under Putin, Russia faced other challenges. The main economic challenge that hit the nation was privatization of the agricultural land. The issue was put to an end in 2002 when the land selling process was decriminalized. However, the communist regions did not adhere to the new requirements by sticking to their lands while the liberal societies sold their portions. Moreover, private land ownership was not effective since those who had direct connection to the regional governors would get an opportunity of purchasing the lands. This menace was nonetheless put to an end in 2002 through Putin’s personal involvement, an aspect that made him regard himself as the dependable reformer.
Renationalization and Corruption
In 2003, Putin made several changes in his government that entailed sacking his considered reformist prime minister Mikhali Kasanov as well as the chief of staff Aleksandr Voloshin. The initiated Russian reforms also went through a tough moment after the confiscation of Yukos Oil Company. This was the nation’s largest and prosperous organization that the head of state would not help, but see it collapse in a painful manner. Putin’s actions were justified because of two major reasons. First, the leader wanted to put to an end the powers that the organization exhibited as well as those of its leader and owner, Mikhail Kondorkozsky, a self-sufficient and blunt tycoon. The other reason that led to the collapse of the larger organization was that Putin wanted to stop his allies who wanted to grasp the corporation properties at relatively low costs. However, through several meetings and deliberations with foreign investors, it was agreed that the organization would not be appropriated or state-owned. However, this resulted in a huge wave of renationalization that followed in the nation. There are several cases where state agencies and organizations went ahead and began purchasing other large private entities for higher valuations as well as through voluntary agreements. This did not hinder many cases of bribery and kickbacks entailed in the processes andforced sales at lower prices. The whole process lacked clear transparency and integrity because of corruption. The renationalization process motive was therefore put to question, as the motive was ill understood. For example, it was not understood how two of the largest organizations like Rosneft Oil Corporation and VTB Bank shares were purchased by external shareholders in the international public offerings in Britain. The renationalization process thus had some negative implications on the Russia economy. For instance, this was, felt through the stagnation of the oil and gas industries and the banking and construction sectors.
These events made Putin to come up with several alterations in handling areas that affect the Russian economy. In as much as the nation experienced a massive private investment, the benefits were never translated to positive economic indicators. The process was therefore reviewed under Putin’s watch to balance the nation’s market economy and democracy that was dominated by monopolies without consolidation. Putin also ensured a reduced borrowing of funds from the west being used indirectly as channels for renationalization. These transformation steered by Putin have seen Russia to stabilize economically both in industrial growth and investments.
Global Environmental Problems
Deforestation refers to the process of cutting trees, or doing away with them through different forms like burning with an objective of changing the land on which they are grownto other uses like farming or construction. Deforestation also entails the process of doing away with indigenous tree species in a forest and replacing them with the fast growing exotic ones with an aim of getting short-term benefits. This erodes away the natural ecosystem arrangements of the diversified tree species. Deforestation has become a common problem in the world today. Large tracks of land within which forest grow have been transformed to other uses like pasture and cropland, leading to massive cutting down of forest trees.
Causes of Deforestation
Many people cut forest tress for several objectives. However, there are main reasons why people cut tress leading to deforestation. For example, people cut trees to find open land that can be utilized for agriculture, grazing, and construction. Among the major causes of deforestation is globalization. There are several industries and factories, which have been built across the globe whose emissions, especially carbon dioxide, lead to deforestation. For instance, many forests in heavily industrialized nations like China have seen the emissions affect the growth of trees, thereby leading to deforestation. Furthermore, some industries also use trees as raw materials for their production of finished goods, an aspect that also contributes heavily to deforestation.
Deforestation is also caused by the increased rates of urbanization. This is the situation where trees are cut down to provide land space for building and construction. In many areas, forests are also being cut down to accommodate the expanding nature of urban areas. In the developing nations particularly, trees are cut down in order to provide grazing land for livestock as well as being used as sources of heat or burning charcoal. These factors lead to deforestation.
Population increase is also another cause of deforestation, especially in developing nations. As the population increases, the demand of produce consumption also increases. This means that trees will be depleted in trying to maintain a balance between these needs, especially where tree products are directly involved.
Deforestation is a common occurrence that is happening in almost all nations of the world but rampant in developing nations. This is severe in regions where there is a massive overdependence on trees for sources of income. In the case of developed nations, there are few cases of deforestation because the majority of the population have expanded their sources of income and practice more afforestation than deforestation. It is evidently clear that a nation’s wealth has a direct impact on deforestation. Wealthy nations will strive to conserve the environment by planting trees while poor nations will cut tress in order to supplement their needs and wants.
Acid rain is the formation of gases in the atmosphere that results in a precipitation that falls on the earth surface as acid. These acids are as a result of atmospheric gaseous emissions in the stratospheremainly as a result of man’s captivity. The main gases that form acid rain in the atmosphere are sulfur and nitrogen that react with water, oxygen, and other oxidants to form acidic compounds. The acidic solutions reach the earth surface in different forms, for instance, as rain water, snow or dry gas particles.
Distribution and Causes of Acid Rain
Acid rain has been witnessed in different parts of the world, especially in the heavily industrialized expanses like Europe, America, and other industrialized nations like China. Acid rain is caused by several factors. For instance, volcanic activities have been known to cause acid rain in most parts of the world due to their gaseous emissions in the atmosphere. Furthermore, the decaying of vegetation also causes acid rain. However, the main cause of acid rain comes from manmade activities,particularly combustion from fossil fuels. These combustions are responsible for the emission of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide in the atmosphere. These gases react with water and oxygen in the atmosphere to form acidic compound solutions of sulfuric, nitric acid, and ammonium nitrates that are released back to the stratosphere. Other causes of these gases in the atmosphere are a result of electric power generation and coal burning.
Effects of Acid Rain
Acid rain has detrimental effects to the society and the environment. This is because the acid rain reaching the earth surface alters it acidity level, thereby damaging the living and non-living organisms. Human beings and other animals are also affected by acid rain through the infiltration of the particles in the respiratory system that brings about breathing complications. In the case of nonliving things, acid rains affect them by corroding and causing them to decay early as in the case of building and construction material and stones, hence affecting their value.
Acid rain is also a cause of deforestation. It dissolves the significant nutrients used by trees and other plants thus affecting their normal growth. The deposits also block the trees from taking up water for their sustainability an aspect that blocks photosynthesis deterring the survival of plants and trees.
Desertification entails the process of degrading the environment due to the human activity as well as the ever-changing climatic conditions that are being witnessed in the world today.The results or effects of these elements are desert like surroundings in a land that was formerly productive. In the arid and semi-arid regions, there are high threats of the areas being deserts because of vegetation extinctions. Desertification is prone in semiarid areas that have minimal rainfall amounts.
Desertification is mainly caused by human activities emanating from poor land management and increased population. Overgrazing also plays a significant role in ensuring decertification by exposing lands to erosions. Through over cultivation of lands, soils are depleted from the most important minerals that cannot support further vegetation, andthis leads to desertification.
Another cause of desertification is deforestation. Deforestation exposes land soil to erosion and lack of water that is attracted by trees. This causes the soil to be carried away by important elements.
Global warming is also another cause of desertification. This is because of changing climatic patterns, which lead to a high temperature in both the atmosphere and soils. As the soils are overheated, they cannot support plant growth and encourage desertification.
Reasons why the Soviet Union fell apart
The Soviet Union was one of the strongest entities in the whole world. Before its fall in 1985, the union was strong with an independent lifestyle, technological development, and culture. Between the years 1945 to 1985, the Soviet Union as a nation enjoyed maximum security through a wall made of stone that surrounded it and no one could break it. In 1985, the Soviet Union was under a new leader called Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev. The man considered himself a reformer and realized that the nation needed many changes according to the way things were being done. His main intention was to ensure the society was responding positively to the existing terms both economically, and politically.
Among the major resolution he made was the Soviet Union under Gorbachev decision to withdraw the Soviet forces from Afghanistan. In as much as the cold war went silent, there was a general feeling that something was not done or was not being done effectively. Consequently, the soviet people became very confused and had mixed reactions in welcoming the new reforms taking shape. From the onset, the soviet people did not enjoy collaboration with the west nations and through the reforms, there was association, which some citizens did not find appropriate. A good number of the population felt that they needed to compete with the set changes and people, hence they did to recognize what was best for them. In general, Gorbachev had changed everything, socially, economically, and politically that the Soviet Union enjoyed as a nation.
The citizens began experiencing mixed norms about life that led to crimes, clashes, and criminal activities due to lack of a uniform order. In as much as Gorbachev wanted a full integration of modern life to the Soviet Union through democracy and free enterprise, these facets turned around to hurt the union. The nation was not ready for these rapid and instant transformations, which led to the collapse of the Soviet Union for having lost its roots.
The Soviet Union also collapsed as a result of a stagnation in the economy. The union had enlarged to a larger size enough that it proved to be burdensome for the state planning. This enormous and complex economy of the Soviet Union was too large for state planners to manage and handle in strategic planning. They also did not want to devolve it to localized levels that would have seen some burdens distributed. As a result, there were failed economic policies in responding to the global changes that were taking shape in terms of innovation development. This led to the collapse of the union since real issues could not be reflected in planning and decision-making on issues touching the economy.
The Afghanistan dilemma also contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Initially, Afghanistan and the Soviet Union enjoyed a cordial relationship. The Afghanistan government began being threatened by the anti-communist insurgents who outnumbered the national army. The Soviet Union in response began supplying thousands of troops and war equipment to Afghan. However, this support was changed into a rapid invasion of major cities and towns, an aspect that led to a guerrilla warfare between the two nations. By the time the war was over and the Soviet Union was withdrawing its troops for Afghanfrom 1987 to 1989, nothing tangible had been gained from the warfare apart from damage and humiliation that contributed to its collapse.
The Soviet Union also fell apart because of lack of effective mechanisms to decentralize its system of governance. The soviet nation failed to allow for individual republics. Many people and entities held tax revenues and caused a crisis in the economy.