[F]or anyone interested in an engaging, sweeping
tour of the Russian economy in the 1990's and a framework for
understanding the complicated financial and political dynamics at work in
Russia, Thane Gustafson's Capitalism Russian-Style is a superb guide.
Gustafson, a professor of government at Georgetown University, tackles
his subject with authority and grace, offering bounteous facts and
anecdotes that never drag down his narrative or his argument.
—The New York Times Book Review
"...for anyone interested in an engaging, sweeping tour of the Russian economy in the 1990's and a framework for understanding the complicated financial and political dynamics at work in Russia, Thane Gustafson's Capitalism Russian Style is a superb guide." New York Times Book Review, February 6, 2000
"Gustafson addresses what went wrong and what the prospects are for improvement. His tone is judicious and his judgments well anchored in an impressive bibliography and an acute knowledge of contemporary Russian realities. This is an important, timely study of a crucial subject, one that can be read profitably by specialists and nonspecialists alike." Library Journal
"The book's crisp, balanced analysis makies it clear just how and why Russia has ended up in the no-man's land it occupies today." Betsy McKay, Wall Street Journal, January 5, 2000
"Gustafson surveys the whole story better than anyone else to date...." Foreign Affairs
"Based on academic research and firsthand experience, Thane Gustafson has written an insightful, informative, and highly readable analysis of the evolution of the Russian economy in the 1990s, one that confronts Russia's problems without illusions but steers clear of the popular media's tendency towards excessive pessimism and sensationalism. A highly recommended primer on the contemporary Russian economic scene." Francis Fukuyama, George Mason University
"Over the past decade, Russia has begun a revolutionary process of transforming its economy and political system. Thane Gustafson's Capitalism Russian-Style explains with remarkable insight and balance what Russia has accomplished and why it as yet has not reached its goal." Hon. Jack F. Matlock, Princeton University, Former US Ambassador to Russia
"Understanding the new Russia begins with this superb book. Thane Gustafson brings 25 years of close study, the scholar's ability for conceptualization, and on-the-ground business experience. The analysis is insightful; the writing is crisp and stylish, and the conclusions are provocative, sobering, and no doubt prescient." Eugene Lawson, President of the US-Russia Business Council
"A tough-minded analysis of Russia's roller-coaster ride from Communism to capitalism and why this transition has been so much harder than the West expected—but but also why it is now irreversible. Thane Gustafson has pried the lid off the new hybrid Russian economy and provided a rich guide to its players—the super rich, the regional power dons, the empire-builders in energy and banking, and the younger, post-Soviet generation of entrepreneurs and leaders whom he sees as the hope for the future." Hedrick Smith, author of The Russians and The New Russians
"With remarkable clarity and indispensable insight, Thane Gustafson's compelling new book captures Russia as no other book does. The first truly comprehensive account of Russia's Wild Nineties and its effort to build a market economy, Capitalism Russian Style unravels the complex and contradictory character of Russia's transition." Lilia Shevtsova, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for World Peace
"This book is an excellent vade mecum through the spectacular confusion that was Russian transition in the 1990s...Gustafson is an informative and persuasive guide, with a style rich in illustrative vignettes, telling statistics, and neat summary judgments." Slavic Review
