Abstract
Russia’s contradictory reality does not accord with the conceptual categories of “success” or “failure” often used in scholarly and journalistic assessments of the country’s post-Soviet development. A broader approach is required which not only gives full weight to the uniqueness of Russia and its heavy and violent Soviet legacy, but which also incorporates the subtleties of modern finance.
Western understanding of Russia is often marred by an uncritical acceptance of the judgements made by the Russian media. As a result, the country’s considerable achievements have not been recognised in the West.
Under President Putin, Russia has resumed many of the reforms that were put on hold during the instability following the crash of August 1998 and is seriously attempting to create the conditions for sustained economic growth. However, implementation will prove difficult and policy slippage will be costly.
Published in the Cambridge Review of International Affairs, Cambridge, UK, April 2003, Volume 16, No. 1.
The CRIA is a peer-reviewed journal published by the Taylor & Francis Group under their Carfax Publishing imprint.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0955757032000075771a?journalCode=ccam20
Published online: 28 Jun 2010