Summary

Summary

Evgeny Yasin’s new book, Will Democracy Survive in Russia, is devoted to prospects for the development of democracy in Russia. Yasin examines democracy from the vantage point of political and economic theory, and analyses historical practice from Ivan III to Boris Eltsin. In the first part of the book (“Theory and history”), Yasin demonstrates the political and economic advantages of democratic government, and effectively disproves the widespread idea that it does not fit the aims and characteristics of modern Russian society. The second part of the book (“The Present”) is a contemporary history of Russia: the rule of President Putin, marked by a frontal attack on democracy, the establishment of State control over mass media, the conflict between the State and big business, as well as the complete discrediting of judiciary and law enforcement agencies. The third part of the book (“Russia faces the challenge”) discusses different variants of Russia’s future: with and without democracy. Combining different political and economic factors, Yasin constructs several alternative scenarios of Russia’s development and points out the most realistic one: in his opinon, it is a retarded, but steady development toward democracy, the only political form that would enable Russia to become competitive and prosperous. Yasin does not confine himself to theoretical speculation, excursions into the historical domain, and critical evaluation of the modern situation. At the end of the book Yasin suggests a definite scheme for the near future: a project for a wide political coalition of democratic forces and a program of democratic modernization, which includes a package of economic, political, and social reforms.

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