Yeltsin's Russia: Myths and Reality

by Lilia Shevtsova

In this comprehensive assessment of what has happened in Russia since 1991--what has been accomplished and what so far has failed--the author argues that the new situation in Russia cannot be defined simply in terms of either authoritarianism or liberal democracy. The reality is more complicateda heterogeneous patchwork of despotism, liberalism, populism, paternalism, and democracy all coexisting. Russia's political life is marked by plurality of views and actors. Opposition movements are proliferating. On the economic front, Russia crossed the threshold to a market economy. Strides have been made in providing guarantees for individual liberties. Russians turn out to vote, for instance, in numbers that put US voters to shame. These advances are impressive. Yet Russia is still struggling desperately to evolve from its Soviet past. New conflicts emerged that are now beginning to act as a brake on reform. The basic problems of state-building have yet to be resolved: defining the nation in an ethnically mixed population, building consensus on power-sharing among federal power and regional leaders, creating a meaningful post-superpower international role. Shevtsova analyzes the major issues of Russian development: the behavior of major interest groups, the emergence of new oligarchic clans, the clashes of branches of power and what is behind them, the real causes of Chechen war, the interaction of stability and instability. She scrutinizes the major political personalities who have had and continue to have an impact on Russian developments--Gaidar, Rutzkoi, Kchasbulatov, Chernomyrdin, Chubais. The main focus is on Yeltsin, who has managed stunning political transformations--from communist topopulist, to liberal, democrat, and statist. Over and over, he has regained preeminence at the very moment when even his own supporters had virtually written him off. Much will depend on the manner, character, and timing of his departure from the political scene--as well as on the legacy he leaves behind.

Genres: History, Russia

346 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Lilia Shevtsova (Лилия Фёдоровна Шевцова) chairs the Russian Domestic Politics and Political Institutions Program at the Carnegie Moscow Center, dividing her time between Carnegie’s offices in Washington, DC, and Moscow. She has been with Carnegie since 1995.

Previously, Shevtsova was a professor of political science at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, deputy director of the Institute for International Economic and Political Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and director of the Center of Political Studies in Moscow. She has been a visiting professor at the University of California at Berkeley, Cornell University, and Georgetown University as well as a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Shevtsova was also a member of the executive council of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, founding chair of the Davos World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of Russia, and member of the Global Agenda Council on Terrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Currently, Shevstova is a member of the Editorial Board for the American Interest, Pro et Contra, Demokratizatsiya, and the Journal of Democracy. In addition to participating in the Davos World Economic Forum’s ongoing Global Redesign Initiative program, she is a senior research associate at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Economics and an associate fellow at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House). She is also a member of the board for the Institute for Human Sciences at Boston University, the Women in International Security international association, the Liberal Mission Foundation, and the New Eurasia Foundation.

Shevtsova is the author and editor of fifteen books, including: Putin’s Russia (revised and expanded edition; Carnegie Endowment, 2005); Russia—Lost in Transition (Carnegie Endowment, 2007); Lonely Power (Carnegie Moscow Center and ROSSPEN, 2010; English edition: Carnegie Endowment, 2010); and Change or Decay with Andrew Wood (Carnegie Endowment, 2011).

Reviews

[Klaudia Skóra]

No cóż trzeba było przeczytać na EE ale o tyle ile mogła być to nawet bawiła mnie czasami a ludzie mówią że historyczne książki są takie nudne

[Alex]

Very decent book, with a great analysis on Russian Democracy and its prospects (pages 282-285). Although, the book is somewhat outdated.