Обогошайтесь!

Обогошайтесь! (Go get rich!) is a Russian word famously associated with Yegor Gaidar, who is reported this morning to have died of a stroke, age 53.

Gaidar was Russian Prime Minister for six months in 1992 and was the chap who effectively introduced the market economy by liberalising prices (which not surprisingly spiked as a result). He also attempted to haul state-enterprises into the real world.

Gaidar is a tragic figure. He did what had to be done, and yet the Russian public hated him for it. In calling on Russians to go get rich, his intention was that they establish legitimate businesses and generate wealth. In reality what happened was that only a small group took his advice (the oligarchs), although instead of creating value they instead just accumulated former state assets in rigged auctions. The majority of Russians liked the idea of getting rich but didn't have a clue how to found or run businesses, how to market, or even where to acquire the necessary skills. As a result, Gaidar's admonishment came to be regarded as a sick joke (although I'm sure that wasn't the intention).

In recent years Gaidar has dropped out of sight, although he did pop up briefly in 2006 when he was reportedly poisoned in Ireland. He stated at the time that the poisoning attempt was the work of 'adversaries of the Russian authorities', however the details are a bit murky and there are echoes of the Litvinenko and Iusenko cases.

Gaidar is rumoured to have been working on a book at the time of his death; it will be interesting to see if other chapters will be posthumously added to his life story.