Assisting Russia's Transition

This evaluation assesses the developmental effectiveness of the World Bank's lending and non-lending assistance to the Russian Federation since 1991, a ten-year period of political, economic and social change. Between 1992-1998, the Operations Evaluation Department (OED) rated the World Bank's activities in the Russian Federation as unsatisfactory, with only modest impact on institutional development. In the period from 1992-2001, results were deemed disappointing but improving, and the overall rating was satisfactory with institutional development impact rated as substantial. Ultimately this OED report concludes that an assistance strategy oriented around analytical and advisory services with limited financial support for Russia would have been more appropriate than one involving large volumes of adjustment lending, since such lending in 1996-97 may have delayed rather than accelerated needed reforms.