Russia's Capitalist Revolution: Why Market Reform Succeeded and Democracy Failed

by Anders Åslund

The Russian revolution, collapse of the Soviet Union, and Russia's ensuing transformation belong to the greatest dramas of our time. Revolutions are usually messy and emotional affairs, challenging much of the conventional wisdom, and Russia's experience is no exception. This book focuses on the transformation from Soviet Russia to Russia as a market economy, and explores why the country has failed to transform into a democracy.

It examines the period from 1985, when Mikhail Gorbachev became the Soviet Union's Secretary General of the Communist Party, to the present Russia of Vladimir Putin. Åslund provides a broad overview of Russia's economic change, highlighting the most important issues and their subsequent resolutions, including Russia's inability to sort out the ruble zone during its revolution, several failed coups, and the financial crash of August 1998.

Genres: Politics, History, Economics, Russia, Nonfiction

356 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2007

Reviews

[Sven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting history from someone who was there. This is pretty academic and somewhat dry, but it explains something about current Russian politics/government and leadership. It's also pretty critical about the failure of the West to support democratic evolution in the early 1990s.