For centuries, dictators ruled Russia. Tsars and Communist Party chiefs were in charge for so long some analysts claimed Russians had a cultural predisposition for authoritarian leaders. Yet, as a result of reforms initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev, new political institutions have emerged that now require election of political leaders and rule by constitutional procedures. Michael McFaul—described by the New York Times as "one of the leading Russia experts in the United States"—traces Russia's tumultuous political history from Gorbachev's rise to power in 1985 through the 1999 resignation of Boris Yeltsin in favor of Vladimir Putin.McFaul divides his account of the post-Soviet country into three periods: the Gorbachev era (1985-1991), the First Russian Republic (1991–1993), and the Second Russian Republic (1993–present). The first two were, he believes, failures—failed institutional emergence or failed transitions to democracy. By contrast, new democratic institutions did emerge in the third era, though not the institutions of a liberal democracy. McFaul contends that any explanation for Russia's successes in shifting to democracy must also account for its failures. The Russian/Soviet case, he says, reveals the importance of forging social pacts; the efforts of Russian elites to form alliances failed, leading to two violent confrontations and a protracted transition from communism to democracy.McFaul spent a great deal of time in Moscow in the 1990s and witnessed firsthand many of the events he describes. This experience, combined with frequent visits since and unparalleled access to senior Russian policymakers and politicians, has resulted in an astonishingly well-informed account. Russia's Unfinished Revolution is a comprehensive history of Russia during this crucial period.
Michael McFaul is a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and and Associate Professor of Political Science at Stanford University. He is coauthor of Between Dictoratorship and Democracy, Power and Purpose, and Popular Choice and Managed Democracy. He has published articles in many journals and newspapers and is a frequent commentator on Russia for American and British television networks.
Table of Contents
PrefaceAcknowledgments1. The Revolutionary Transition from Communism to Democracy: A ModelPART 1. THE GORBACHEV ERA, 1985–19912. Gorbachev's Design for Reforming Soviet Political Institutions3. The End of the Soviet UnionPART 2. THE FIRST RUSSIAN REPUBLIC, 1991–19934. Institutional Design in the First Russian Republic5. The Failure of the First Russian RepublicPART 3. THE EMERGENCE OF THE SECOND RUSSIAN REPUBLIC, 1993–19966. Designing the Political Institutions of the Second Republic7. Transitional Constitutionalism8. Transitional ElectoralismPART IV. THE FUTURE OF RUSSIAN DEMOCRACY9. The Quality of Russian Democracy10. The Stability of Partial DemocracyIndex
What People are Saying About This
Larry Diamond
Both a path-breaking study of Russian politics and a major work on institutional change, Russia's Unfinished Revolution provides the best analytic and theoretical account I have seen of how and why a broad range of actors may come to accept an ambiguous and flawed regime. The access that Michael McFaul has won and the understanding that he has mobilized are nothing short of breathtaking. This is a deeply informative, fascinating, and at times gripping history.
Archie Brown
Even those whose opinions differ from Michael McFaul's interpretations of transformative change in Russian politics since the second half of the 1980s will find this book both stimulating and exceptionally well-informed. McFaul combines theoretical grounding with readability—a far from common achievement.
