Aslund (Peterson Institute for International Economics) examines the political and social transformation of Russia from the reforms of the 1980s begun by Mikhail Gorbachev through the consolidation and stabilization of the "Capitalist Revolution" under Vladimir Putin. His analysis puts forth a number of key arguments: that Gorbachev's initial reforms built a massive rent-seeking system; that the collapse of the Soviet Union was overdetermined by economic problems, political illegitimacy, and the national aspirations of its constituent parts; that early and radical reforms were more effective and irreversible than later gradual reforms; that democracy failed to arrive because Boris Yeltsin waited too long to dissolve parliament and failed to disband the KGB; and that privatization is more successful where property rights are legitimized. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

This book focuses on the transformation from Soviet Russia to Russia as a market economy and explores why the country has failed to transform into a democracy. Aslund provides a broad overview of Russia's economic change, highlighting the most important issues and their subsequent resolutions.