Russian Constitutionalism Historical and Contemporary Development [Paperback]

Medushevsky examines constitutionalism in Russia from Tsarist times to the present. He traces the different attitudes to constitutionalism in political thought, and in practice, at different periods, showing how the balance between authoritarianism and liberalism has shifted. In addition, he discusses the importance of constitutional developments for societies in transition, and concludes that post-communist constitutional development in Russia is still far from complete. As an empirical resource, Russian Constitutionalismtakes a longer historical view than other books on this topic, and it also goes further than this in its interpretive approach, providing a greater understanding of Russian constitutionalism.

1. Constitutionalism as a Theoretical Problem in Transitional Societies  2. Proto-Constitutionalism in Russian Traditional Society  3. Constitutional Programme of Russian Liberalism and its Implementation in the Period of Transition from Monarchy to Republic  4. Nominal Constitutionalism of the Soviet Dictatorship  5. Contemporary Model of Russian Constitutionalism in Comparative Perspective.  Conclusion