The Economies in the Black Sea Region: How Did They Fare after the Collapse of the Soviet Union?

This paper analyzes the economic developments in countries bordering the Black Sea. Of the three former soviet republics bordering the Black Sea, Georgia showed the best economic per-formance, in particular in the late 1990s. The economic performance of Russia and Ukraine is poor. Their economies shrank severely in the 1990s. Though the transition depression seems to have bottomed out, it is far from certain that the economic recovery is sustainable. The Russian economy might still have been shrinking without the support of high oil prices. Of the European Union candidate member-countries bordering the Black Sea Bulgaria’s eco-nomic performance is considerably better than Romania’s. However, the high unemployment rates and the corruption problem still pose big problems in both countries. They will have a long way to go before accession to the European Union can be realized. Turkey combined high economic growth with high inflation in the 1990s. The stabilization program does not meet its objectives and accession to the European Union is still far away.