CIAO DATE: 05/03

Putin's Russia

Lilia Shevtsova

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

April 2003

 

About the Book

On December 31, 1999 Yeltsin's Russia became Putin's Russia. Ailing political maverick Boris Yeltsin abruptly handed the country's 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 Putin's ascendancy 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.

However, Russia's 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 Putin's Russia, Lilia Shevtsova examines how, under Putin, the country vacillates between optimism and anguish, hope and resentment. She examines the true nature of Putin's leadership and how far he is willing to go 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.

Lilia Shevtsova is senior associate in the Russian and Eurasian Program at the Carnegie Endowment, dividing her time between the Carnegie offices in Washington and Moscow. She is one of Russia's top political analysts, an award-winning journalist, and a regular commentator for major world television and radio networks. Before joining the Endowment, she was deputy director of the Institute of International Economic and Political Studies and director of the Center of Political Studies in Moscow. She is the author of six books, including Yeltsin's Russia: Myths and Reality (Carnegie Endowment, 1999), and coeditor of Gorbachev,Yeltsin, and Putin (Carnegie Endowment, 2001).

Table of Contents

Foreword
by Jessica T. Matthews

Prologue (PDF, 3 pgs., 30 KB)

1. The Kremlin's Power Play (PDF, 37 pgs., 150 KB)

   Yeltsin on the wane. The Primakov formula. Who runs Russia? The Kremlin seeks an heir. The Bank of New York scandal. Enter Putin. Russia wants order. The uses of war.

2. The End of the Yeltsin Era

   The parliamentary elections of 1999. The difficult fate of Russian liberals. The Communist Party as a still powerful element. Yeltsin amazes everyone and departs. What Yeltsin leaves to his heir.

3. Putin, the New Russian Leader

   Presidential elections without a choice. What course to take? The new Kremlin spider web. Formation of the government. Taming of the governors. Whom to rely upon. The intelligentsia is concerned.

4. The Moment of Truth

   Putin repeals the taboo on persecution of the oligarchs. The victor in the boring wilderness. A harsh August and a feeling of suffocation. Reinforcing the superpresidential regime. Military reform.

5. Power in One Fist

   Chechnya as a trap. The government under the gun. The Soviet anthem. Putin enters the world. Why does president want power?

6. Russia Tranquilized

   Back to the kitchen. Society seeks calm. Russian Gaullism. Who loves Russia more? Pogrom at NTV. Wax dummies.

7. The Long-Awaited Breakthrough

   Putin renews market reforms. Fighting bulldogs under the carpet. Moscow and Washington work it out. The Russian president chooses the West. Disturbing signs.

8. On the Eve of a New Race

   The nature of stability. The grudges continue. Putin's foreign policy success. New uncertainties. Freedom and order.

9. An Unfinished Story: How Russia Responds to Its Challenges

   The West—means and goal. The Faustian bargain. Will Russia be able to reject the Russian System fully and forever? Stability as a brake. Will Putin destroy his regime? Russia's hope.

Index