Source: Washington
Gorbachev, Yeltsin, and Putin analyzes leadership politics in Russia over the past sixteen years. Its authors demonstrate the crucial difference new leaders can make in a system that both before and after the fall of communism concentrated great power and authority at the top of the political hierarchy. Focusing on Russia's three top leaders since 1985, the authors examine their goals, evolving ideas, style of rule, institution-building, and impact in different areas of policy. This fascinating and informative volume provides readers with a feel for all the tension and drama of Russia's transformation under three very different leaders.
Archie Brown is Professor of Politics at the University of Oxford and author of The Gorbachev Factor. Lilia Shevtsova is senior associate in the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment and author of numerous books, including Yeltsin's Russia: Myths and Reality.
Advance Praise
"Four thoughtful academics have given us a very readable guide through the thicket of modern Russian politics. This is one of those books that helps its readers think about a complicated problem by giving them clear, intelligent cues and directions."
—Robert G. Kaiser, author of Russia: The People and the Power and Why Gorbachev Happened
"Indispensable reading for those interested in the transition from Soviet to Russian politics. Students of leadership will be particularly interested in analyses provided by experts with a special sensitivity to the issues of leadership and followership as embedded in the Russian context."
—Barbara Kellerman, Executive Director, Center for Public Leadership, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
"Seldom do readers have the good fortune to encounter such informative and well-documented assessments of a major country's leaders. The comparison between Gorbachev and Yeltsin is magisterial. On Putin, the authors succeed in identifying some of the most promising as well as the most worrying of his policies."
—Alfred Stepan, Wallace S. Sayre Professor of Government, Columbia University
