A liberal economist who helped design the transition from a planned to a market economy
Yevgeny Yasin was an economist who developed reform proposals for moving the late Soviet planned economy toward a market economy. As a co-author in the Shatalin group’s 500 Days programme, he helped formulate a blueprint for rapid market transition, then worked in the reforming Russian state after the Soviet collapse. As Yeltsin’s economy minister, he represented the liberal reform line while confronting disputes over the transition’s social costs and the state’s capacity. He later shaped economic policy education and public debate through the Higher School of Economics and the Liberal Mission Foundation.
Career Timeline
- 1957Graduated from the Odesa Institute of Hydraulic Engineering; bridge-construction engineer
- 1963Graduated from Moscow State University, Faculty of Economics
- 1964–1973Head of department and laboratory at the Research Institute of the Central Statistical Administration
- 1973–1989Headed a laboratory at the Central Institute of Economics and Mathematics, USSR Academy of Sciences
- 1989–1991Department head at the USSR Council of Ministers’ State Commission on Economic Reform; co-author of the 500 Days programme
- 1994–1997Minister of Economy of the Russian Federation
- 1998–2021Academic supervisor of the Higher School of Economics
- 2000–2019President of the Liberal Mission Foundation