Introduction: Russia in transition.
I. The politics of transition: A changing Russian political culture?
The social bases for reform and anti-reform.
The Russian parliament.
The state bureaucracy.
Political parties and elections.
The role of the media; `Women of Russia' and women's representation in Russian politics.
II: Social Classes and Inequalities: Politics and class in the privatisation process.
Privatisation and the new business class.
The working class in post-communist Russia.
The position of women in post-Soviet Russia.
Interaction of political and national-ethnic conflicts in contemporary Russia.
The changing welfare state.
Poverty.

An accessible book covering the momentous changes that have occurred, and are still occurring, since the fall of the USSR in 1989. Contributions from an impressive collection of authors are drawn from the most recent and original research available and address political and social issues which impact on all levels of Russian society. The book consists of a selection of specially commissioned pieces which have evolved from the conference of the same name, held at Cambridge University in December 1994.