Of course Yeltsin was a big part of the problem too.
Of course Yeltsin was a big part of the problem too.
I think that's overstating the case. In fact the "average Russian person" was living in destitute poverty through most of the cold war, and none of that meaningfully changed with the advent of a market economy. Except that Russians of the 2000's could get eat better food and watch (much) better TV.
It's absolutely true that most of the western aid ended up hurting and not helping. But the bar was very, very low to begin with.
Search Term : Result
Life expectancy Russia 1990 : 68.89
Life expectancy Russia 2019 : 73.08
For reference, in the US:
Life expectancy US 1990 : 75.21
Life expectancy US 2019 : 78.79
I dunno nothing really stands out. It looks like Russians benefited a little bit more, but Americans were starting from a higher baseline so it makes sense that gains would be harder to come by.
2019 was selected rather than 2021 for obvious reasons.