Only $44.49
Provided By
Description
On December 31, 1999, ailing political maverick Boris Yeltsin abruptly handed the countrys leadership over to the virtually unknown former intelligence officer Vladimir Putin. The new Kremlin boss represented both continuity and change. While he was linked with the past, he also signified a sharp break from it. With Putins ascent to power, Russian leadership and Russia have changed dramatically. A pragmatic manager, Putin has tamed the Russian elite and arrogant tycoons, pushed forward economic reforms previously stalled under Yeltsin, and instituted a pro-Western foreign policy. He has accomplished all of this while maintaining an astonishing 70 percent approval rating. However, Russias transformation under Putin remains a paradox. Outwardly he has proved his desire to modernize Russia, but he has also demonstrated a deep distrust of major democratic institutions and an open desire to keep tight control over society. In Putins Russia, Lilia Shevtsova, one of Russias top political analysts and an award-winning journalist, examines how, under Putin, the country vacillates between optimism and anguish, hope and resentment. She examines the true nature of Putins leadership and how far he is willing to go and capable of going with further transformation. Time will tell if he can combine his authoritarian ways with economic liberalism and pro-Western policy to define the Russia of the twenty-first century.
