• Research
  • Politika
  • About
Carnegie Russia Eurasia center logoCarnegie lettermark logo
  • Donate
Popular Choice and Managed Democracy
Book

Popular Choice and Managed Democracy

Demonstrates key trends in an extinct superpower, a troubled country in whose stability, modernization, and openness to the international community the West still has a huge stake.

Link Copied
By Michael McFaul and Timothy J. Colton
Published on Sep 3, 2003

Source: Brookings Institution Press, 2003

Twice in the winter of 1999-2000, citizens of the Russian Federation flocked to their neighborhood voting stations and scratched their ballots in an atmosphere of uncertainty, rancor, and fear. This book is a tale of these two elections—one for the 450-seat Duma, the other for President. The book also demonstrates key trends in an extinct superpower, a troubled country in whose stability, modernization, and openness to the international community the West still has a huge stake.

About the Author
Micheal McFaul is a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment and associate professor of political science at Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is the author of Between Dictatorship and Democracy: Russian Post-Communist Political Reform and Russia's Unfinished Revolution: Political Change from Gorbachev to Putin.

Timothy J. Colton is professor of government and Russian studies in the Department of Government and director of the Davis Center for Russian Studies at Harvard University. His previous books include Moscow: Governing the Socialist Metropolis (Harvard, 1995), named best book in government and political science 1995 by the Association of American Publishers.

"This is an excellent book, and an unusually valuable contribution to the growing literature on Russian electoral behavior. It brings together the skills and knowledge of two top scholars of Russian politics, and does so in an accessible, crisply written style. It will be a standard source on this election cycle for a long time."
—Thomas F. Remington, Professor and Chair, Department of Political Science, Emory University

"This is one of those rare books that combines policy relevance with the kind of argumentative rigor that will satisfy even hard-core social scientists. Written by two of the West's best known academic specialists on Russian politics, it is almost certain to become regarded as one the best (if not the best) books on the 1999-2000 election cycle."
—Henry E. Hale, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Indiana University

About the Authors

Michael McFaul

Former Senior Associate

In addition to his role at Carnegie, McFaul is Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and associate professor of political science at Stanford University.

Timothy J. Colton

Authors

Michael McFaul
Former Senior Associate
Michael McFaul
Timothy J. Colton
EconomyTrade

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.

More Work from Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Iran War Fallout Gifts Putin Diplomatic Victory at ASEAN Summit

    Russia looks set to reap economic benefits from closer ties with Southeast Asian countries that are keen to find reliable energy suppliers and diversify trade ties.

      • Alexander Gabuev

      Alexander Gabuev

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Russian Oil Sector Battered but Not Broken by Ukrainian Air Attacks

    If it proves impossible for the Russian authorities to avoid a gasoline deficit, the question then becomes how they will organize the distribution of a scarce resource.

      • Sergey Vakulenko

      Sergey Vakulenko

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Multiple Wars Are Ruining Central Asia’s Efforts to Diversify Its Trade Routes

    This year’s wars have made alternative routes to transit through Russia no less risky for Central Asian countries.

      Galiya Ibragimova

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Russia’s Elite Conflict Over Internet Restrictions Does Not Herald Regime Collapse

    A much-discussed disagreement over internet restrictions in Russia was never an existential threat for Putin: It was about elite groups protecting their interests.  

      Alexandra Prokopenko

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Could Migrants From India and Africa Solve Russia’s Labor Shortage?

    The demands of the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, demographic problems, and public hostility toward Central Asians mean Russia does not have enough workers.  

      Salavat Abylkalikov

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
Carnegie Russia Eurasia logo, white
  • Research
  • Politika
  • About
  • Experts
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • For Media
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.