REMEMBRANCE IN TIME - Index of

Rolf WINKELMANN: Economic transition in the Baltic States – On winners and losers 501
3.1. Winners of the economic transition
I will start with the winners of the economic transition in the Baltic States. According to
several studies the main group consists of people who were young at the beginning of the
transition-period. In our case this group consists of people born in the early seventies of
the last century. At this time these people were about 18 years old. Their advantage lies in
the new opportunities the new time offers them. Especially in the Baltic States they had a
good chance to enter the public administration as these states try to get rid of the predemocratic
staffs that often consists of ethnic Russians who came to the soviet republics
between the late forties and early eighties. Estonia and Latvia especially saw the
chance to swap the staffs. One should keep in mind, that Mart Laar (Estonia) was 32
years old, when he became the first prime minister of post-soviet Estonia in 1992. The
opportunities young people had in this time also shows that social mobility was
existent and that the social heritage of the soviet period loose stability and support
social mobility [2]. But it was a rather short period than the children of the ‘singing
revolution’ had nearly indefinite chances to find and secure their place in the new
society. Nowadays the young generation faces similar problems like in other Eastern
and Western European states.
Among the winners of the economic transition in the Baltic States are of course the
people who at the beginning already made a fortune. Collecting wealth in post-soviet
Europe occurred in different ways. There are entrepreneurs who had an idea that made
them rich. But many other wealthy people reached that level through corruption, theft,
and cozenage. But in both ways, legally and illegally, some kind of network was always
important and helpful.
But also the old economic elites often belong to the winners of the transition. Using
their personal networks and their know-how offers them the possibility to secure their old
status also in the new time of democracy and capitalism. On the other hand, neither in
Estonia, nor in Latvia and Lithuania most of the members of the political elite did not
change into the new economic elite. Therefore we can say, that economic elites changes
through newcomer but mainly not from the old political elite [3].
Next to the young people who were willingly take a risk one can generally say that
educated people among the group of the middle aged people were successful too,
unless their competences are still needed and who are able to adapt to the new
economic system quickly. One way to define winners and losers is based on data from
the United Nations, as I showed above. Another attempt to describe winners and losers
is based on economic development. The introduction of capitalism automatically leads
to income inequality. As a result, people with a stagnating or decreasing level of
wealth belong to the group of loser, while people with a steadily increasing status
belong to the winner of the economic transition. The winners of the economic
transition can be defined as members of a group with an above the average income and
higher positions in the private sector. [4]In Estonia, for example, 26 % of the people
that left school between 1995 and 2002, belong to the winner of the economic
transition. They entered higher management positions due to their education. During
this time, the social mobility still existed [5].
People working in western companies and organisations definitely belong to the winner
of the transition. They earn most of the time an above the average income. Well-paid jobs
are existing in new sectors like banks and insurance companies [6].