Rowman & Littlefield Publishers The Political Economy of Russia

This timely book explores Russia’s political development since the collapse of the USSR and how inextricably it has been bound up with economic change. Tracing the evolution of Russia’s political economy, leading scholars consider how it may continue to develop going forward. They assess the historical legacies of the Soviet period, showing how―despite policies implemented after the USSR dissolved in 1991―there are ongoing bitter battles over property and state revenues, over land, and over welfare. The book puts these domestic issues in international and comparative perspective by considering Russia’s position in the global economy and its growing role as a major energy producer. Focusing especially on the nature and future of Russian capitalism, the contributors weigh the political problems that confront Russia in its ongoing struggle to modernize and develop its economy. Contributions by: Andrew Barnes, Paul T. Christensen, Linda J. Cook, Gerald M. Easter, Neil Robinson, Richard Sakwa, and Stephen K. Wegren. Review This volume examines the link between the development of Russia's economic and political regimes, focusing on how the link has been influenced not only by Soviet legacies but also by the realities of energy, agricultural, and demographic conditions. This work introduced this reviewer to the concept of Russia's "political capitalist" system, a concept that will add new dimensions to class discussions. While edited volumes often suffer from uneven coverage or quality, editor Robinson (Univ. of Limerick, Ireland) avoids this problem, providing an excellent overview in the introduction, followed by a chapter that puts Russia's political economy in context. Chapter 3 ("Revenue Imperatives") starts from the premise that power inevitably finds wealth, and explains how Russia's pattern of revenue extraction influenced state-society relations. Chapter 4 ("Systemic Stalemate") expands this idea, using corporate case studies (Yukos, Toaz) to explore the tensions between developmental and predatory aspects of state intervention. Chapter 5 explores the political economy of Russia's demographic crisis, examining both state policy and societal attitudes toward immigrants and pronatalism. Chapters 6 and 7 focus on problems that agriculture and oil present to Russia's political economy. Final chapters place Russia's economy in global perspective and describe the political dysfunctions of Russian capitalism. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections.--CHOICE The Political Economy of Russia offers excellent analyses of the relationships between the state, the economy, and society in the post-Soviet Russian Federation. It is a significant contribution not only to the study of Russia but to the comparativist debates on the varieties of capitalism. The book includes studies of taxation, property rights, demography, and agriculture. It shows that, far from being an 'energy superpower, ' Russia belongs to the semiperiphery of the world system and that the state under Putin and Medvedev continues to play a predatory rather than a developmental role.--Peter J. S. Duncan, University College London Neil Robinson has assembled an impressive group of specialists to explore the many challenges facing Russia as it searches for a sustainable development strategy.--Peter Rutland, Wesleyan University About the Author Neil Robinson is senior lecturer in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Limerick, Ireland.