I don't know about immediately after the crisis -- that was the leftoid Primakov government that Yeltsin quickly ousted.
Putin's current policy aims at liberalizing the economy slowly enough so as not to cause any major shocks to the population -- Russia's certainly had enough of that! This is in total contrast to Yeltsin's "fuck the people" approach (Putin's huge popularity rating gives him a great deal of leverage against competing political forces). He's also attempted to cut down on corruption by means of decreasing the number of government permits (read: "bribes") you need to get things done. He has also declared a de facto amnesty on economic crimes committed during the 90s, which is drawing capital back into Russia (it helps that the rest of the world economy is mostly so crappy right now).
Many of the oligarchs have been pushing for ways to protect their property from other up and coming would-be thieves; this requires a greater role of the state and protection of private property and diminished corruption.
There are no reliable stats on wages, as with everything in the Russian economy, where so much is hidden. But they have certainly gone up remarkably in both relative and real terms, though they are still below pre-crisis levels.
Economic growth actually started BEFORE high oil prices became a factor.
Chris Doss The Russia Journal ------------------ ------------ Blade Blade:
What was the general Russian economic policy that came after the crisis? It seems that the high growth rates are showing that they are doing something right. Does anyone have statistics for wages in the last several years? Were the devaluation and the higher oil prices the only things that contributed to this growth, or were there other factors?