The Dynamics of Russian Politics: A Short History

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This work focuses on problems of economic development, modernisation, effective control, and possible democratic evolution of Russia. It is intended to bring the study of Russian politics into the mainstream of political science, and it assumes no previous knowledge on the part of the reader. Fundamental questions about the nature of political, economic, and social development are addressed. It examines and explains the incapacity of the Soviet system to deal with problems of modernisation, including establishing and maintaining a political order, economic growth, and legitimacy. The work emphasises dynamic relationships and changes.

Reviews

Green's text is an excellent, comprehensive introduction to the dynamics of Soviet and Russian politics from the late Tsarist period to the present. Covering in less than 100 pages the immediate pre-Soviet and Soviet periods up to Gorbachev's ascension to power, Green skillfully blends narrative history with disciplinary interpretations of that history from the fields of politics science and economics. The remainder (and majority) of the book describes and analyzes the attempts at reform during the Gorbachev and Yeltsin periods, systematically covering issues of ideology, culture, politics, and most centrally, nationalism and the dismantling of the command economy. Green pays careful and explicit attention to the important and relevant area-studies literature throughout, providing the reader with useful references for further study. General; under-graduate; professional.-Choice
"Green's text is an excellent, comprehensive introduction to the dynamics of Soviet and Russian politics from the late Tsarist period to the present. Covering in less than 100 pages the immediate pre-Soviet and Soviet periods up to Gorbachev's ascension to power, Green skillfully blends narrative history with disciplinary interpretations of that history from the fields of politics science and economics. The remainder (and majority) of the book describes and analyzes the attempts at reform during the Gorbachev and Yeltsin periods, systematically covering issues of ideology, culture, politics, and most centrally, nationalism and the dismantling of the command economy. Green pays careful and explicit attention to the important and relevant area-studies literature throughout, providing the reader with useful references for further study. General; under-graduate; professional."-Choice

Author Bio

BARBARA B. GREEN is Professor of Political Science at Cleveland State University, where she has held many administrative posts including Vice Provost, Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Director of the General Education Program. Dr. Green has been a Visiting Professor at Ljubljana University, and an associate with the Russian Research Center at Harvard. She has also been a faculty member at Wellesley College. Her present academic specialization is Russian and Central/Eastern European politics.