Åslund, Anders.  Russia’s capitalist revolution: why market reform succeeded and democracy failed.  Peterson Institute for International Economics, 2007.  356p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780881324099  pbk, $26.95.  Outstanding Title! Reviewed in 2008apr CHOICE.
45-4486  HC340  2007-34725 CIP 

This volume tells the story of Russia’s economic transition from communism to capitalism, 1985-2007. Clearly written and with plenty of graphs and tables, it should become the standard assigned reading for undergraduate courses. It is in effect a distillation of the main points covered in Åslund’s previous monographs (e.g., (How Capitalism Was Built, CH, Mar’08, 45-3884; Building Capitalism, CH, Jun’02, 39-5912; How Russia Became a Market Economy, CH, Nov’05, 33-1635). This new book under review follows a chronological structure and covers both economic and political developments. Åslund is a firm defender of the utility of radical economic reform, and even though political failings prevented their full implementation in Russia, he is still upbeat about the trajectory of Russia’s transition. Coverage of the early 1990s, when Åslund was an adviser to the Russian government, is more convincing that the discussion of the Putin era, which is rather schematic. Specialists will find the book does not carry the analytic insights of Åslund’s other works. Summing Up: Essential. Public and academic economics collections, lower-division undergraduate and up. — P. Rutland, Wesleyan University

Developments in Russian politics 7, ed. by Stephen White, Richard Sakwa, and Henry E. Hale.  Duke University, 2010.  316p bibl index; ISBN 9780822344599, $79.95; ISBN 9780822344773  pbk, $22.95. Reviewed in 2010jul CHOICE.
47-6494  DK510  2009-40034 MARC 

This is the seventh edition of a popular research study. Seventeen scholars contributed to this volume, which consists of 15 chapters dedicated to various spheres of Russian politics, the military, and foreign policy. Stephen White, Richard Sakwa, Michael McFaul, Gordon B. Smith, Alfred B. Evans, Thomas Remington, and John P. Willerton are among the contributors. The volume examines the basic institutions of modern Russia, including the presidency during the Yeltsin, Putin, and Medvedev periods; the electoral system; the operation of the Russian Duma; and political parties. This study also focuses on the relationship between the government and the population as well as on the importance of federalism. In addition, it examines the political process in more than 80 republics and regions of modern Russia. Significant attention in this book is given to the analysis of how Russians handle their legal system and how they establish and conduct their economic, foreign, and defense policies. One chapter analyzes the Russian media landscape. Overall, this work is a comprehensive guide to modern Russia and recommended for all readership levels. Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels. — Y. Polsky, West Chester University of Pennsylvania

Encyclopedia of contemporary Russian culture, ed. by Tatiana Smorodinskaya, Karen Evans-Romaine, and Helena Goscilo.  Routledge, 2007.  727p bibl index ISBN 0-415-32094-1, $180.00; ISBN 9780415320948, $180.00. Reviewed in 2007sep CHOICE.
45-0039  DK510   MARC 

This information-packed, unillustrated volume of 1,272 alphabetically arranged entries, which vary in length from 50 to 2,000 words, covers a sweeping range of cultural topics related to the present Russian Federation and the former Soviet Union. In a three-page introduction, the editors emphasize their underlying aim in producing this volume: to satisfy the broad, increasingly interdisciplinary interests and needs of specialists and general readers, while exploring the cultural changes that have occurred since the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union. Although the volume’s scope embraces the period after the 1953 death of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to the present, the editors include numerous supplementary entries on key earlier figures and events to provide additional historical context for nonspecialists. The book’s wide-ranging contents include information on WW II, the now-independent Soviet republics, writers, politicians, historical periods, religion, economics, journalism, popular culture, music, literature, art, theater, education, food, clothing, customs, folklore, ethnic minorities, and more. Plentiful cross-references at the end of entries and before the list of recommended reading (for entries over 500 words) helpfully identify related topics. Besides the detailed analytical index at the back, the volume includes alphabetical and thematic listings of the entries in the front to offer maximum access to the book’s rich contents. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels. — K. Rosneck, University of Wisconsin—Madison

Hutchings, Stephen.  Television and culture in Putin’s Russia: remote control, by Stephen Hutchings and Natalia Rulyova.  Routledge, 2009.  251p bibl index  (BASEES/Routledge series on Russian and East European studies, 55); ISBN 9780415419079, $160.00. Reviewed in 2009nov CHOICE.
47-1262  PN1992  2008-42323 CIP 

Hutchings (Univ. of Manchester, UK) and Rulyova (Univ. of Birmingham, UK) examine the role of television in post-Soviet Russian culture, looking primarily at the extent to which Vladimir Putin–as both president and prime minister–has imposed his political agenda on the media. The authors approach this through analysis not only of the ways in which news stories are covered (they look primarily at the Beslan school hostage crisis of 2004), but also of several types of Russian television programming. They devote individual chapters to the talk show, sitcom, game show, and drama serial. The most unconventional aspect of the book is that it addresses television not through the filter of the political, as is the case with analogous works, but from the standpoint of cultural studies and theories of cultural meaning. Hutchings and Rulyova also provide meticulous statistics on television programming in provincial cities as well as Moscow and St. Petersburg. The final chapter, which treats Russian regional programming, examines the effect of both the political sphere and globalization on the provinces, which the authors see as the crossroad of the global, the national, and the local. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. — A. J. DeBlasio, University of Pittsburgh

Lynch, Allen C. Vladimir Putin and Russian statecraft. Potomac Books, 2011. 165p bibl index afp ISBN 9781597972987 $24.95.  Reviewed in 2012apr CHOICE.
49-4705 DK510  CIP

Lynch (Univ. of Virginia) has written a comprehensive examination of Vladimir Putin’s personality as both a political leader and an individual.  Lynch offers a balanced assessment of how Putin built his career during the Soviet era, and how he climbed up the ladder of government hierarchy after the breakup of the USSR.  The book includes a number of interesting facts concerning Putin’s childhood and private life.  The analysis of Putin’s statecraft is profound and accurate.  Lynch pays attention to the most important episodes of Putin’s tenure as the president and prime minister of Russia.  Also, he furnishes an important insight into Putin’s handling of Russian foreign policy.  In his conclusion, Lynch sums up quite well the results of Putin’s policies.  The book is well written; its language and style are clear and accessible to anyone interested in Russian politics.  This volume is indeed a fair appraisal of what Russia has achieved recently.  Recommended to everyone interested in the past, present, and future of Russia.  Summing Up: Recommended.  All readership levels. — Y. Polsky,  West Chester University of Pennsylvania

Mankoff, Jeffrey.  Russian foreign policy: the return of great power politics.  Rowman & Littlefield, 2009.  359p bibl index afp ISBN 0-7425-5794-4, $85.00; ISBN 9780742557949, $85.0.  Outstanding Title! Reviewed in 2009nov CHOICE.
47-1675  JZ1616  2008-53725 CIP 

This is a truly excellent book. From the factual as well as from the interpretive point of view, it is suitable for both the specialist and nonspecialist reader searching for a serious, historical explanation of the direction of Russian foreign policy in the immediate post-Yeltsin era. Simultaneously, it elucidates the gradual development and maturing of Putin’s foreign policy. Mankoff (Yale Univ.) first indicates the slow, deliberate drift of Russia away from the Euro-American sphere, making it clear that Russia will remain a sui generis world between Europe and China. Russian-Ukrainian relations and Russia’s role as gas supplier to Europe are significant here. In Asia, it is India that becomes Russia’s major partner, although it is suggested that the possible expansion of Russian oil and/or gas export to the Far East may become a turning point in Russian history. It is becoming definitely a non-European country and possibly a Pacific power. In the concluding chapter, the author suggests that Russia’s cold shoulder toward Europe and the US is largely logical, given how little attention the West has paid to Russia’s reawakening to the world at large. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers, upper-division undergraduate students, and above. — L. K. D. Kristof, emeritus, Portland State University

Remington, Thomas F.  The politics of inequality in Russia.  Cambridge, 2011.  220p index; ISBN 9781107096417, $90.00; ISBN 9781107422247  pbk, $29.99. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE.
49-2326  HC340  2010-52775 CIP 
 
Remington’s investigation of why inequality rose sharply and remained high during Russia’s transition provides a careful empirical analysis of regional differences in the linkages among economic performance, income inequality, and democratization. While Remington (political science, Emory Univ.) is surprised by the positive link between democratization and inequality, economists would likely view the association as reflecting outcomes generated in a more laissez-faire environment influenced by such initial conditions as differing regional endowments and degrees of monopoly power, with regions dominated by authoritarianism retaining the ability to impose the Soviet legacy of equality. Several strengths make this book a wonderful read. The focus on interregional variation in relations between business and government adds a new dimension to analyses of the transition process. Well-documented findings deepen an understanding of the interaction between politics and economics in Russia and globally (e.g., the positive link between democracy and economic performance, and between wages and cooperative behavior between government and firms; the negative link between poverty and democracy, and between democracy and predatory behavior toward firms). Remington’s knowledge of the Soviet/Russian political system is notable. Focusing on the political determinants of inequality, this work nonetheless provides a wealth of economic data and analysis. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections. — S. J. Linz, Michigan State University

Rose, Richard.  Popular support for an undemocratic regime: the changing views of Russians, by Richard Rose, William Mishler, and Neil Munro.  Cambridge, 2011.  206p bibl index; ISBN 9781107009523, $85.00; ISBN 9780521224185  pbk, $29.99. Reviewed in 2012mar CHOICE.
49-4117  DK510  2011-1820 CIP 
 
Rose (Univ. of Aberdeen, Scotland), Mishler (Univ. of Arizona), and Munro (Univ. of Edinburgh, Scotland) have put together a very useful book that achieves four objectives. First, the study is rooted in the New Russia Barometer data set that includes 18 surveys of Russian public opinion gathered by the Levada Center from 1992 to 2009. Second, the authors utilize those data to defend their thesis that popular support for the regime has increased steadily over the past two decades, in spite of the fact that the regime itself has moved away from democratic promises and become a “sovereign democracy.” There are two explanations: this type of democracy fits with perceptions of the Russian national tradition level, and democratic practices, such as elections, look better than they did in Soviet times. Third, the book interweaves statistical analysis with an informative summary of key political developments. Fourth, the authors carefully link the level of regime support to broad categories of variables such as social differences, political performance, and economic conditions. Overall, the work is an important contribution to scholarship that spotlights the unexpected linkage between public support and regimes that do not live up to democratic expectations. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers, upper-division undergraduate students, and graduate students. — J. W. Peterson, Valdosta State University

Russia after the global economic crisis, ed. by Anders Åslund, Sergei Guriev, and Andrew C. Kuchins.  Peterson Institute for International Economics, 2010.  287p index; ISBN 9780881324976  pbk, $22.95.  Outstanding Title! Reviewed in 2010oct CHOICE.
48-0999  HC340  2010-14253 CIP 
 
This second book from the Russia Balance Sheet project (the first, The Russia Balance Sheet, by Anders Åslund and Andrew Kuchins, CH, Nov’09, 47-1531) focuses on 12 topics that illuminate why Russia suffered worse than any other G-20 country in the recent global economic/financial crisis. They include “current” economic conditions, corruption, energy (in)efficiency, political factors and the (centralized) state, foreign economic policy, and the need for military and high-tech industry reform. The book concludes that while Russia successfully weathered the “perfect storm” of declining oil prices, capital outflows, and the international fallout from the conflict with Georgia, long-term structural challenges are substantial. Whether Russia will develop a federal system suitable for social development, reduce barriers to innovation and business development (caused by corruption, lack of rule of law, debilitating regulations, reliance on energy rents), and promote wellness among the population remains to be seen, as does improvement in Russian foreign policy and in US-Russia relations. The book is well written and uses very recent data, making it one of the best single sources of information about current economic conditions in Russia. The chapters on high-tech industries and military reform offer information and insights not typically provided. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers; academic audiences, upper-division undergraduate and up; professionals. — S. J. Linz, Michigan State University

Russian civil society: a critical assessment, ed. by Alfred B. Evans Jr., Laura A. Henry, Lisa McIntosh Sundstrom.  M.E. Sharpe, 2006.  340p bibl index afp ISBN 0-7656-1521-5, $79.95; ISBN 0765615223  pbk, $29.95.  Outstanding Title! Reviewed in 2006may CHOICE.
43-5537  JN6699  2005-7918 CIP 

This edited volume is a thoughtfully compiled collection of essays dealing with civil society, a subject that everyone in Russian studies acknowledges as being important. Few books have covered the subject in as encompassing and expansive a way. The editors wisely take a parsimonious definition of civil society, through which they aim to give readers better access to the diverse types and results emerging from Russian civil activism rather than ascertaining the impact on democratization. Future works should focus on such outcome-based analyses, but this first attempt is necessary since there is little in the existing literature that shows the variety of Russian civic activism. The work is well written. Part 3, comprising case studies, teeters close to being too sociological, perhaps losing sight of the larger questions meant to infuse each individual contribution. It is important how many women scholars contributed to this volume; fully two-thirds of the work is done by them. This is only a positive development. Too many edited volumes in the Russian studies literature use token appearances by female analysts. This volume therefore represents a long overdue advancement. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers, lower-division undergraduates and above. — M. D. Crosston, Clemson University

Sharafutdinova, Gulnaz.  Political consequences of crony capitalism inside Russia.  Notre Dame, 2011 (c2010).  279p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780268041359, $38.00. Reviewed in 2011oct CHOICE.
49-1110  JN6529  2010-33408 CIP 

This book is about one of the most urgent problems of post-Communist Russia, one that impedes that nation’s efforts toward prosperity, namely corruption. Sharafutdinova’s research is a comprehensive examination of how crony capitalism influences the Russian landscape. The author summarizes the nature and origins of post-Communist crony capitalism through a comparison of two major cases–Nizhnii Novgorod and the Republic of Tatarstan. Sharafutdinova’s book points out that in the case of Nizhnii Novgorod, many regional elections from the 1990s through 2004 were held in unfavorable circumstances that included dirty tricks, manipulation, and corruption. The author indicates that the regional elections practically treated such methods as acceptable. In 2004, Vladimir Putin abolished gubernatorial elections, apparently to reduce the level of corruption. Overall, Sharafutdinova (Miami Univ., Ohio) provides a valuable comparative analysis on the subjects of corruption and democracy during the Boris Yeltsin and Putin eras. It is recommended for scholars, students, and anyone who follows Russian affairs. Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels. — Y. Polsky, West Chester University of Pennsylvania

Shevtsova, Lilia.  Russia–lost in transition: the Yeltsin and Putin legacies, tr. by Arch Tait.  Carnegie Endowment, 2007.  388p index; ISBN 9780870032363  pbk, $19.95.  Outstanding Title! Reviewed in 2008may CHOICE.
45-5221  DK510  2007-34896 CIP 

This is an excellent volume. Shevtsova, (senior associate, Carnegie Endowment, Moscow) a longtime observer and keen analyst of Russian political affairs, has published separate volumes on both Yeltsin’s Russia and Putin’s Russia. This volume builds on the earlier two and focuses on how much of traditional Russian political leadership style and substance remains after the collapse of the USSR. Little effort has been expended in post-Soviet Russia to create a law-based political system, including free, competitive elections. Indeed, Putin’s recent naming of Dmitry Medvedev (currently first deputy prime minister and chair of the board of the powerful Gazprom) as his choice of successor as president (to be confirmed in the March 2008 elections) follows a similar action by Yeltsin in 1999, and is reminiscent of leadership selection in the Soviet and earlier Russian monarchy eras. Shevtsova emphasizes the current important political role of state security forces’ personnel, Putin cronies, and protégés. She explores Russia’s recent reemergence onto the world stage, largely because of vast oil and natural gas resources, which have enabled the economy to grow significantly and allowed the political leadership to threaten its neighbors (through cutoff of essential oil and gas deliveries). Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers, upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, research faculty, and practitioners. — J. S. Zacek, Union College (NY)

Taylor, Brian D.  State building in Putin’s Russia: policing and coercion after communism.  Cambridge, 2011.  373p bibl index; ISBN 9780521760881, $95.00.  Outstanding Title! Reviewed in 2011oct CHOICE.
49-1112  DK510  2010-37099 CIP 

Taylor (Syracuse Univ.) provides readers with the first comprehensive account of the structure and role of Russia’s internal coercive apparatus since the fall of the Soviet Union. Showing a mastery of both Russian empirical material and the Western literature on comparative policing, Taylor paints a rich and convincing picture of a police state that is bloated, with a budget that doubled in the past decade, yet is still corrupt and resistant to reform. Russia’s internal security forces are adept at cutting down the political opposition, but largely ineffective in dealing with terrorism, crime, and corruption. Taylor notes that the top security officials, the siloviki, do not form a unified bloc but are divided by rival clan and corporate interests. The book includes chapters on federalism, public attitudes towards the police, and a case study of the troubled North Caucasus region. Adopting a loosely Weberian approach to the question of state power, Taylor uses the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators to measure the Russian state’s capacity and quality in an international context. This will be the standard book on the subject for some time to come. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. — P. Rutland, Wesleyan University

Vavilov, Andrey.  The Russian public debt and financial meltdowns.  Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.  269p bibl index; ISBN 9780230248939 , $100.00. Reviewed in 2011may CHOICE.
48-5214  HJ8715   MARC 

Extremely readable and rich in detail, this book provides an economic history of Russia’s transition with a focus on financial aspects. Any economic transition is complex, but the Russian case was messier than most; none other resulted in sovereign default. Vavilov, an intelligent, competent insider who was directly involved in the first decade of transition, analyzes the intersections of public finance, politics, and economics to provide a cogent narrative of the Russian experience. Insights follow from understanding how the Soviet economy functioned; the financial conditions of the late 1980s; and the constraints on policy. Circumstances compelled Russia to assume all Soviet external debt obligations, which became a tool to promote economic reform. The book describes the critical involvement of the IMF in managing debt obligations and guiding the transition. Primarily concerned with macroeconomic policies resulting in default, Vavilov also provides detailed descriptions of critical events, the emergence of Russia’s virtual economy, and how associated arrears in payments exacerbated fiscal imbalances. Although technical details may elude nonspecialists, central themes are accessible to any intelligent reader. Minor grammatical flaws. Summing Up: Recommended. Undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and professionals interested in Russia, public finance, or economic transition. — R. Lotspeich, Indiana State University

Editor’s note: The following pertinent titles will be reviewed in forthcoming issues of CHOICE: 
Eichler, Maya. Militarizing men: gender, conscription, and war in post-Soviet Russia. Stanford, 2012. 239p bibl index afp ISBN 9780804776196, $80.00; ISBN 9780804776202 pbk, $24.95
Favarel-Garrigues, Gilles. Policing economic crime in Russia: from Soviet planned economy to privatization, tr. by Roger Leverdier. Columbia, 2011. 304p bibl index ISBN 9780231702140, $60.00; ISBN 9780231800495 e-book, contact publisher for price
Goode, J. Paul. The decline of regionalism in Putin’s Russia: boundary issues. Routledge, 2011. 220p bibl index ISBN 9780415608077, $140.00; ISBN 9780203816233 e-book, contact publisher for price  
Hedlund, Stefan. Invisible hands, Russian experience, and social science: approaches to understanding systemic failure. Cambridge, 2011. 307p bibl index ISBN 9780521768108, $95.00

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