Reexamining Economic and Political Reforms in Russia, 1985-2000 - by Vladimir Gel'man & Dmitry Travin & Otar Marganiya (Hardcover)

About the Book

Reexamining Economic and Political Reforms in Russia, 1985-2000: Generations, Ideas, and Changes analyzes the impact of generational changes and ideational changes on major political and economic reforms conducted in Russia during the late twentieth century.

Book Synopsis

Reexamining Economic and Political Reforms in Russia, 1985-2000: Generations, Ideas, and Changes analyzes the impact of generational changes and ideational changes on major political and economic reforms conducted in Russia during the late twentieth century.

Review Quotes

Reexamining Economic and Political Reforms in Russia, 1985-2000 takes a pioneering step away from long-running debates over whether the 1980s and 1990s reforms were good or bad for Russia, and blazes new trail on the very important question of how we can explain these reforms as major historical phenomena. The authors' account is fascinating and novel, tracing different phases of reforms to ideas specific to particular generations dubbed the 'sixtiers' and 'seventiers.' This approach provides a useful framework for thinking about how Russia will change once a new generation reaches the pinnacle of power, one whose formative experiences postdate the Soviet period.

[This book] provides an excellent overview of the political and economic reforms during a crucial fifteen-year period in Russian history . . . Readers will . . . recognize the book's great value in contextualizing the beliefs of the late Soviet and post-Soviet reformers within a broader historical evolution of ideas and experiences. Both experts and students of Russian political economy will learn from this clearly written, empirically rich book.

In this lucid, stimulating and highly readable work...the authors examine what they call the 'long and winding road' of economic and political transformation in the USSR/Russia since 1985.

This is a splendid read, a great intellectual analysis of Russia's post-communist transformation by some of St. Petersburg's foremost scholars. This book focuses on ideology, generations, and sociology rather than politics and economics. In an accessible language with all relevant Russian and Western academic references, the authors bring out the complexity of the Russian transition. Their writing is original and open-minded, more like brain-storming than a set theory, helping us to understand the confusing Russian transformation.

This short book offers a novel interpretation of the changes that have wracked Russia over the last 30 years. The book argues that change in Russia has been driven by ideas and generational change.... [T]his useful volume is the best brief history of the recent Russian past and the ideas that have driven change that we have and is recommended for specialists and students alike.

About the Author

Vladimir Gel'man is a professor of political science and sociology at the European University at St.Petersburg and Finland distinguished professor at the Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki.

Otar Marganiya is the dean of faculty of economics at St. Petersburg State University and the president of the Center for Modernization Studies at the European University at St. Petersburg.

Dmitry Travin is the academic director of the Center for Modernization Studies and a professor at the European University at St. Petersburg.