It is now rich even by Western European standards, and the growth continues. The success of the free market brought democracy in its wake. Hong Kong and Singapore are now approaching the United States in real GNP per capita. Taiwan and South Korea are not far behind. In all these cases, economic success fostered democratic government.
China is particularly interesting.
Deng authorized the construction of a market economy, and the bureaucracy started to dismantle government control with surprising enthusiasm. China's real GNP per capita grew 7.7 percent in 1991, 12.8 percent in 1992 and an estimated 13 percent in 1993. If they can maintain that growth rate, China will be the largest economy in the world early in the 21st century. So China is becoming rich. My personal observation, from traveling throughout Russia and the region every few months for the last seven years, is that they are doing much better than they might admit.