Post-Soviet Russia

Roy Medvedev, a historian and political activist, was a member of the Soviet parliament from 1989 to 1991. He is the author of numerous books, including Khrushchev: The Years in Power; On Soviet Dissent; The October Revolution; and Let History Judge: The Origins and Consequences of Stalinism.George Shriver has translated and edited several books, including Let History Judge, The October Revolution, and Gorbachev: On My Country and the World (Columbia).

• Translator's Note Introduction Part 1. Myths and Realities of Captialism in Russia 1. A Capitalist Perestroika: First Steps, 1992--1993 2. Obstacles to Capitalist Development in Russia 3. Privatization, Government Crisis, and Elections (1993) 4. The End of Market Romanticism 5. Russia's New Class Part 2. The Elections of 1995-96 and Their Aftermath 6. Duma Elections, December 1995 7. Gennady Zyuganov as Politician and Ideologist 8. The Inevitability of Change Part 3. 1998: A Year of Upheaval 9. "War on the Rails" 10. Financial Collapse and Another Change of Government Postscript: Yeltsin's Last Year 11. Why the Dismissal of Primakov? 12. The Dismissal of Stepashin 13. Who Is Putin? 14. The Second Chechnya War 15. The December 1999 Elections 16. A Change Without a Coup or Revolution Index

Medvedev recognizes that state socialism was not an appropriate economic model for Russia, and that radical economic reforms were necessary for Russia's economic development... He argues that the approach should have been gradual, taking into account the special characteristics of Russia's social and economic infrastructure. -- Amy Knight Times Literary Supplement Russia's best known contemporary historian comes to grips with his country in the aftermath of communism. Booklist Shriver has assembled, and translated from the Russian, published and unpublished material by Medvedev, a Russian historian and political activist, describing and interpreting the interaction of political and economic forces in Russia from 1992 to 1999. -- M. Bornstein Choice A valuable contribution to our continuing effort to understand the beginnings of the new Russia. History Unlike the many superficial and tendentious compositions on the Russian book market devoted to chronicling the social and political life of the past few years, Medvedev's book stands out as an attempt to present an objective picture of Russia's turbulent 1990s... providing a much-needed and richly informed historical perspective on Russia's development. -- Alexander Chubarov History Medvedev's book is a first-rate political chronicle that will undoubtedly figure as one of the best accounts of the events described. -- Carlos Eduardo de Mendonca H-Net