The gold exchange and big loans also boosted money circulation in Estonia, which created an illusion for the wider public that the economy of Estonia and the Estonian mark were in a good situation. It was only in December 1923 when former Prime Minister Otto Strandman of the Estonian Labour Party criticized the Minister of Finance Georg Vestel in the Riigikogu for incorrect spending of state treasury. Westel was divest of office and Strandman's criticism led to the eventual resignation Päts's 2nd cabinet in 1924 and led Päts to distance himself from public politics for seven years. Otto Strandman became Minister of Finance in 1924. He implemented his New Economic Policy ("uus majanduspoliitika") of economic redevelopment, which stabilized the Estonian mark and detached the Estonian economy from dependence of trade with Russia. Dependence on Russia and hyperinflation could have affected the social situation in Estonia crucially, especially in the light of 1 December 1924 communist coup d'état attempt.