This work focuses on problems of economic development, modernization, effective control, and possible democratic evolution of Russia. It is intended to bring the study of Russian politics into the mainstream of political science, and it assumes no previous knowledge on the part of the reader. Fundamental questions about the nature of political, economic, and social development are addressed. It examines and explains the incapacity of the Soviet system to deal with problems of modernization, including establishing and maintaining a political order, economic growth, and legitimacy. The work emphasizes dynamic relationships and changes.

Preface
The Establishment of Empire: The Tsarist Cycle
Revolution and Disintegration of Empire
Establishing Control: The Lenin Years
Consolidation of Power and Reconstruction
Centralization of Control
Experimentation, De-Stalinization, and Dissent
The Search for Political Stability and Order
Stagnation
Reform and the Loss of Legitimacy I
Reform and the Loss of Legitimacy II
The Economic Crisis
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
Transformation or Collapse I: Control over the Center
Transformation or Collapse II: The Economy; Transformation or Collapse III
Prospects for Democratic Transformation
Selected Bibliography
Index

Barbara Green, OP, PhD, is a professor of biblical studies and a member of the core doctoral faculty at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California. Editor of the Interfaces series, she also wrote Like a Tree Planted, published by Liturgical Press.