Non-payments in the Russian economy in the 1990s: An unforeseen institution

Among  the large-scale processes   that  caused   the greatest  damage   to the  Russian  economy and population in the  1990s and significantly undermined the prestige of the reformers, non-payments occupied  a special  place. To minimize their negative  impact, long-time  efforts  were  made  by the government, the  presidential administration and  business  (the author of this  article had  to actively participate in this). The article describes  the  scale, depth and  duration of this phenomenon, analyzes  the  descriptions of its causes and ways to overcome it presented in the scientific literature, proposes  the author’s understanding of the  causes and real mechanisms of solution, formulates additions to the  original concept of reform  developed by a group  of Moscow  and  Leningrad scientists in the  second  half  of the  1980-x.