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Change or Decay: Russia's Dilemma and the West's Response
Book
Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center

Change or Decay: Russia's Dilemma and the West's Response

Two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the West has yet to adjust to the post-Soviet reality and Russia has not settled on its relationship with the rest of the world.

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By Lilia Shevtsova and Andrew Wood
Published on Oct 31, 2011

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Russia and Eurasia

The Russia and Eurasia Program continues Carnegie’s long tradition of independent research on major political, societal, and security trends in and U.S. policy toward a region that has been upended by Russia’s war against Ukraine.  Leaders regularly turn to our work for clear-eyed, relevant analyses on the region to inform their policy decisions.

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Source: Washington

The world is still coping with the consequences of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Two decades later, the West has yet to adjust to the post-Soviet reality and Russia has not settled on its relationship with the rest of the world.

In Change or Decay, two of the most respected scholars on Russia analyze how relations are shifting between Russia and the world. In a series of lively and candid conversations, Lilia Shevtsova and Andrew Wood discuss how the Russia of Putin and Medvedev emerged from the ashes of the Soviet Union and the trajectory of Russia’s relations with the West.

Advance Praise

“This book attacks the widely held myths and illusions that have for so long governed both the evolution of Russia and the ideas of Russia held by the outside world. It’s a lively book made still better by flashes of humor. You may agree with it, or dispute it. You may like some of it, and hate the rest. But read it.”

—Mikhail Gorbachev, former president of the Soviet Union, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and president of the Gorbachev Foundation

About the Authors

Lilia Shevtsova

Former Senior Associate, Russian Domestic Politics and Political Institutions Program, Moscow Center

Shevtsova chaired the Russian Domestic Politics and Political Institutions Program at the Carnegie Moscow Center, dividing her time between Carnegie’s offices in Washington, DC, and Moscow. She had been with Carnegie since 1995.

Andrew Wood

Authors

Lilia Shevtsova
Former Senior Associate, Russian Domestic Politics and Political Institutions Program, Moscow Center
Lilia Shevtsova
Andrew Wood
CaucasusRussiaForeign Policy

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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