While the "reset" in U.S.–Russian relations has come with closer cooperation on arms control, Afghanistan, and Iran, as long as Russia's system of personalized power rests on anti-Western principles, a true reset is unattainable.
Source: Washington
Is it possible to reform the Russian system from the top? Could technological innovation help Russia’s political liberalization? What are the domestic roots of Russia’s foreign policy and how sustainable is the current reset with the United States?
In Lonely Power, adapted from the Russian version, Lilia Shevtsova questions the veracity of clichés about Russia—by both insiders and outsiders—and analyzes Russia’s trajectory and how the West influences the country’s modernization.
Rejection of real reform in Russia risks gradual decay of the political system or even state collapse. Russia can break this vicious circle only if it rejects personalized power and if the West helps Russia transform economically and politically.
“Lilia Shevtsova is one of Russia's best-known political analysts, equally at home in the academic world and in the more robust exchanges of journalism and the media.”
—The Economist on the Russian version of Lonely Power
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
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