Much of the structure of the Russian economics operating until 1987 originated under Joseph Stalin's leadership, with annual plan and five-year plans as main mechanisms used by the Soviet government to translate economic policies into programs. It was the period when the economy of Russia was interlinked with Kazakhstan economics and that of other states of Soviet Union. The State Planning Committee formulated output targets for stipulated planning periods, while regional planning bodies refined these targets for such economic units as state farms, collective farms and state industrial enterprises, each of them having its own specific output plan.

 The role of the government was to ensure the plans were fulfilled. The plans incorporated output targets for intermediate goods, raw materials, financial goods and services. The task of the central planning system was to ensure a balance among sectors throughout the economy. Performed by the states were allocation functions, similar to those performed by prices in a market system. The central planning system has proven effective in terms of allowing Soviet leaders to use resources in times of crisis and reindustrialize the country during the postwar period.

Russian economics of the mid-1990s is marked by the reformers' attempts and failures during the perestroika era. Since 1991 the country has made significant improvements in terms of developing its market economy by establishing market-determined prices. Such critical elements as extensive foreign investment and privatization of state enterprises found their way in the first years of the post-Soviet period. However, other fundamental parts of economic infrastructure, like comprehensive commercial laws and commercial banking weren't applied by 1996.

And though a return to the central planning of Soviet era seemed unlikely, the post-transition economy's configuration remained unpredictable.

During this period economists have strived to achieve accurate measurement of Russian economics by questioning the accuracy of official Russian economics data. Despite the fact that most prices are now determined by the market, prices on some services and goods, like energy and utilities are still fixed by the Government. Moreover, the exchange rate of the Russian ruble to the US dollar has changed rapidly, with the Russian inflation rates being high. Such conditions make it quite difficult to convert economic measurements from Russian ruble to US dollar to make statistic comparisons with the United States and other countries of the West.

Two independent goals: economic restructuring and macroeconomic stabilization, mark transition from central planning to the market-based economy. While the former requires establishing legal, commercial and institutional entities, like banks, commercial legal codes and private property, the latter entails implementing monetary and fiscal policies which promote economic growth in the environment of stable exchange rates.