Professor Daniel Treisman answers some of scholars' most pressing questions that haunt modern day Russia. Why did the Soviet Union disintegrate, and could its collapse have been avoided? Did Yeltsin destroy too much or too little of the Soviet political order? What explains Putin's unprecedented popularity with the Russian public? How did the "oligarchs" reshape the Russian economy?
Treisman suggests that these questions can be answered by looking back through the dynamic political and social traditions of the region. Rigorous rather than rhetorical, this book uses historically documented evidence with modern day conditions to paint a complete picture of Russia today. In a time when global politics are more important than ever, it is critical for us to understand the inner workings.
Professor Daniel Treisman answers some of scholars' most pressing questions that haunt modern day Russia. Why did the Soviet Union disintegrate, and could its collapse have been avoided? Did Yeltsin destroy too much or too little of the Soviet political order? What explains Putin's unprecedented popularity with the Russian public? How did the "oligarchs" reshape the Russian economy?
Treisman suggests that these questions can be answered by looking back through the dynamic political and social traditions of the region. Rigorous rather than rhetorical, this book uses historically documented evidence with modern day conditions to paint a complete picture of Russia today. In a time when global politics are more important than ever, it is critical for us to understand the inner workings.
Daniel Treisman is a professor of political science at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a leading specialist on post-communist Russia’s politics and economics. A recipient of fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, and the Hoover Institution, he is the author of two previous acclaimed books on Russia. He lives with his family in Malibu, California.
"Daniel Treisman treats us to an elegant and learned history that
demystifies Russia's transformation from a communist state to a
normal country. This is the best and most readable account of
Russia's rebirth." --Anders Aslund, Senior Fellow, Peterson
Institute for International Economics
"Daniel Treisman has written a book about Russia today that is
calm, sane, judicious, very well informed, and written in the kind
of prose that makes you want to read on. It is a welcome and
necessary antidote to much fashionable Western writing that
portrays Russia as a kleptocracy ruled by a secret policeman intent
on victory in a new Cold War.... Russia has certainly returned.
Whether we like it or not we are likely, if we want to achieve our
own objectives, to find ourselves having to treat the Russians with
the respect they believe they deserve, and can increasingly
command." --Rodric Braithwaite, former UK ambassador to the Soviet
Union and Russia, author of "Across the Moscow River: The World
Turned Upside Down" and "Moscow 1941: A City and Its People at
War"
"Possessing both deft storytelling abilities and deep scholarly
knowledge, Treisman provides a truly masterful exposition of the
tumultuous past two decades in Russian history, politics, and
society. Anyone interested in Russia and its leaders should read
this book." --James Goldgeier, George Washington University
"This excellent book provides both an elegant and comprehensive
account of Russia's turbulent history over the last quarter century
and penetrating and sometimes surprising analyses of the main
political and economic issues that that history raises." --Michael
Mandelbaum, author, "The Frugal Superpower: America's Global
Leadership in a Cash-Strapped Era"
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