Siheyuan starts from a better life

Chapter 1115 Shock Therapy
Jiang Yan got out of the car, his feet stepping on the withered, yellow and rotten leaves, which made a squeaking sound. A gust of cold wind blew by, and he subconsciously tightened his collar.

There's no way. The climate here in Damao is really too cold and a bit unbearable.

Looking up at Gaidar and Chubais who were already waiting to greet him at the door, Jiang Yan was stunned, and then felt a little proud. Not everyone could let Boris's two think tanks, the two former and current first deputy prime ministers, come out to greet him.

Jiang Yan is not unfamiliar with these two. Gaidar is a great Russian economist and politician. He served as the Acting Prime Minister of Russia from June to December 1992. During this period, he tried his best to promote radical economic reforms known as "shock therapy."

In that chaotic era, the realization of dreams might just happen overnight. Just one year after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Gaidar led his partners into Yeltsin's government and began drafting a plan for the new Russian economy. In October 1992, Yeltsin appointed Gaidar as the first deputy prime minister to lead Russia's economic reforms, as if to say, since you made the plan, you should complete it. He agreed without hesitation.

In early 1992, the shock therapy reform was fully launched in Russia. The first step of the reform was to liberalize prices. The Russian government stipulated that from January 1992, 1, 2% of consumer goods prices and 90% of production materials prices would be liberalized. In the first three months of price liberalization, the effect was obvious. But not long after, prices soared. By June, the wholesale price of industrial products had risen 80 times, and companies cut production one after another.

The second step is to introduce a "tightening" policy for both finance and currency. Fiscal tightening is mainly about increasing revenue and reducing expenditure, increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. All tax incentives are cancelled, and all goods are subject to a 28% value-added tax. At the same time, a consumption tax is imposed on imported goods. At the same time, the government controls the amount of money issued in an attempt to curb inflation.

第三步是大规模私有化。俄政府最初的办法是无偿赠送。国有财产总值的1/3约为1.5万亿卢布(约合当时人民币1231.34亿元)，人口是1.5亿。于是每个大毛人领到一张1万卢布的私有化证券，可以凭证自由购股。但这项改革成效不大。

The "shock therapy" reduced the GDP of Russia by almost half, and the total GDP dropped to one-tenth of that of the United States. The living standard plummeted.

Gaidar's old associates and friends admit that he is widely seen as a disliked figure among ordinary people in Mao Zedong because the economic liberalization reforms he led caused them to lose almost everything.

Chubais, known as the father of privatization in Russia, was not much better than Gaidar in Russia. In 1991, he held a series of less noticeable but influential positions. In November 1991, he was appointed Chairman of the State Property Management Committee and began to organize and implement "the world's largest privatization."

Privatization brought Chubais honor, but also brought him abuse. Ordinary people hated Chubais and called him a "big liar"; the opposition accused Chubais of privatization by auctioning off state property at a low price, concentrating wealth in the hands of a few people. They said that Chubais was good at moving state property around, and could not bring economic growth to Russia. However, in the eyes of some intellectuals, emerging entrepreneurs and Westerners, Chubais was the only one who could promote the development of Russia. Chubais himself did not care whether he was tall or short in the eyes of the public. His creed was: as long as the purpose was good, any means could be used.

"Jiang, the real winter for Mao has not yet arrived, but I believe that the winter for Mao will pass in a flash, and then we will usher in a permanent spring." Chubais held Jiang Yan's hands attentively, speaking with a double meaning and a smile.

They have heard the name Jiang Yan too many times. Although he is a foreigner, he is Boris' most important money bag. Moreover, after what Jiang Yan said at a party, he has always regarded Jiang Yan as a confidant. Not to mention that as one of the two major economic think tanks under Boris, he needs to get insights and help from Jiang Yan, an outsider.

"I also believe that under the leadership of Mr. President and you, the people of Mao will usher in a permanent spring. There is a saying in our flower-growing family that winter has come and spring is near."

"Yes, spring is a wonderful season, but what I am more curious about is that Jiang, your series of operations at Jiaobenji were called the magic hands of Jiaobenji."

Hearing this zhong xi name, Jiang Yan blushed slightly. There was nothing he could do. His nickname was given by the foot basin chicken man, and it sounded quite zhong xi. After the greetings, the two of them warmly invited Jiang Yan to the villa. The reason why they were so enthusiastic about Jiang Yan was that in fact, in addition to the two of them, the people who could actually influence the economy of Russia were Kadanfu, the current deputy prime minister, the former director of the Volga Automobile Factory, the star director of the Soviet state-owned enterprise, and Jiang Yan, who had become the richest man in Russia without knowing it.

This can be seen from the fact that Jiang Yan was invited to attend the meeting here. And generally speaking, Kadanfu and Jiang Yan are considered as one, and Kadanfu will agree with Jiang Yan's opinions, and vice versa.

In addition, they knew that although it seemed that the economic policies had always been discussed and formulated by the two of them, Boris attached great importance to the opinions of Kadanf and Jiang Yan.

Because they have an unavoidable disadvantage, that is, they are just economists. They are good in theory, but not in practice. Jiang Yan and Kadanfu are practical people who have made real achievements. Now they need to listen to their opinions, and they both hope to get Jiang Yan's support.

However, if Jiang Yan knew their idea, he would definitely sneer at it. These two economists who have been in the ivory tower for a long time are too naive. The future is not as optimistic as they imagined. And the economy of Mao is much more complicated than they imagined.

The current coldness is just the beginning of the ice that will last for the next thirty years in Damao. It can be said that the current coldness is the lowest level. As for when spring will approach and the ice will melt, Jiang Yan doesn’t know. Anyway, he didn’t see it when he traveled through time.

As for the theories they put forward, scholars of later generations analyzed that they were bad. Without an effective institution, privatization was allowed to run rampant. It can be said that this wild horse of the Russian economy was unbridled.

"Gaidar, it seems that you have become quite accustomed to staying here." Jiang Yan smiled and joked to Gaidar, who was chubby and looked similar to Winnie the Pooh in both figure and appearance.

After dealing with Gaidar several times, Jiang Yan found that Gaidar was really not good at communicating with the outside world as the outside world said. Chubais, who was more decisive and smooth, was considered by the outside world to be a more astute politician. However, he never underestimated this first think tank under Boris, the future first deputy manager of the Russian Federation, who was not as simple as he seemed.

"It's okay. After all, I have a lot of fat on my body and I can withstand the cold." Gaidar said with a smile.

From this episode, we can tell that Gaidar and Jiang Yan get along well. At least, he can still make such a harmless joke under his serious look.

After chatting for a while, they went straight to a meeting room.

The young economists in the villa looked at Jiang Yan, a foreigner who was obviously younger, in surprise and were quite curious.

However, after knowing Jiang Yan's name, they were not so surprised. During this period, they had heard Jiang Yan's name many times, and even many of their family members had indirectly benefited from Jiang Yan.

(End of this chapter)