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Yeltsin’s Regime and the New Russia When the Russian Federation became an independent state at the end of 1991, many presumed that the Yeltsin regime would be able to establish a “democratic” political system and a “capitalist” economic system in a relatively short period of time. It has proved very difficult to achieve these objectives during the last ten years (Harris). The fall of the Communist regime in the Soviet Union was more than just a political event. The powerful interaction and fusion between politics and economics that characterized the state socialist system created a situation that was unique for the successor states of the Soviet Union. The penetration of the Communist regime into every facet of life left the Russian people with little democratic traditions. Russia faces that seemingly impracticable task of economic liberalization and democratization. This is combined with a necessity to answer nationalist and ethnic questions that have plagues Russia for centuries. The dilemma facing the Russian Federation is that it finds itself with a charge of establishing and following democratic institutions, while at the same time facing secessionary pressures that seem to require extra-democratic means