Russian Politics Challenges of Democratization [Hardcover]

First published in 2001, this book assesses five crucial political arenas during the Yeltsin era.What went wrong in Russia? A group of leading young scholars answer this question through a theoretically informed, in-depth analysis of the Yeltsin era. They challenge explanations that stress the constraints of history and concentrate instead on the importance of elite decisions and political institutions. The authors agree that elite inattention to to institution-building has been a central problem of Russia's post-communist transition. The weakness of the state and its institutions has contributed to a number of serious problems threatening democratic consolidation.What went wrong in Russia? A group of leading young scholars answer this question through a theoretically informed, in-depth analysis of the Yeltsin era. They challenge explanations that stress the constraints of history and concentrate instead on the importance of elite decisions and political institutions. The authors agree that elite inattention to to institution-building has been a central problem of Russia's post-communist transition. The weakness of the state and its institutions has contributed to a number of serious problems threatening democratic consolidation.What went wrong in Russia? A group of leading young scholars answer this question through a theoretically informed, in-depth analysis of the Yeltsin era. They challenge explanations that stress the constraints of history and concentrate instead on the importance of elite decisions and political institutions. The authors agree that elite inattention to institution building has been a central problem of Russia's postcommunist transition. The weakness of the state and its institutions has contributed to a number of serious problems threatening democratic consolidation.Introduction: challenges of Russian democratization Robert G. Moser; 1. Russian electoral trends Michael McFaul; 2. Executive-legislative relations in Russia, 19919 Robert G. Moslg