Political transition and post-Soviet countries. National leader factor. Part 2

Only a few years ago, the post-Soviet transition issue was one of the most urgent ones for the CIS countries. However, attempts to comprehend the issue are not always successful.
Such generalizations frequently omit some quite important essential details. From my point of view, in this sense, the issue of leadership factor implementation is underestimated and far from being fully comprehended.

During the twenty years since the USSR collapsed some states have carried out successful economic and political reforms, but some countries, such as Kyrgyzstan, have failed to establish stable government institutions and a strong civil society.

Undoubtedly, for some countries their resource base created opportunities for a more intensive process of reform of their economy and stabilization of the social sphere (eg Azerbaijan or Kazakhstan).

However, these opportunities had still to be exploited. It was necessary to develop a reform strategy and start consistently implementing it.

It is the leadership factor, the factor of a strong politician able to propose a distinct agenda to the state and society and proceed to implement it consistently, that can cause reforms to succeed.

It is a strong leader who makes a choice in favor of the optimal decision at every point of no return. For example, in post-Soviet Azerbaijan in 1994, in the environment of the lost Nagorno-Karabakh campaign, social instability and the destructive activities of opposition forces, the third Azerbaijani president Heydar Aliyev signed the "Contract of the Century", thus ensuring the basis for the economic stability of an independent Azerbaijan for several decades.
And the decision format was far from evident.

There were several versions and each of them had its pros and cons. But the leader made an absolutely accurate and thought-out choice. Undoubtedly, the leadership factor is of great importance to post-Soviet countries. In the modern environment, demand is growing
for leaders-reformers able to preserve the traditions, customs and spiritual culture of their countries, but at the same time able to take responsibility for painful reforms and deconstruction of public perceptions.

Possibly, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are the most striking examples of this trend. In the Central Asian region, no other states have been so consistent and principled in implementing market reforms.