This work explores the structure and background of classes and elites in the transformation of Russia, and offers new ways of examining the past and present of Russian politics.

Examines federalism and regional and local politics in Russia. This book discusses how Vladimir Putin has re-asserted the power of the centre in Russia, and tightened the federal government's control of the regions. It shows how, contrary to his rhetoric about developing Russia as a free and democratic state, authoritarianism has been extended.

This text examines Russia at the end of the 20th century, as it seeks to come to terms with its new status within the world community. It looks at the pressures and tensions arising from economic and social change, and the problems of securing a democratic future.

A study of local politics in Russia that shows that the key reforms of local government, and the struggle to forge viable grassroots democracies have been inextricably linked to the wider struggle for power between the regions and the Kremlin, and to the specific nature of Russia's highly politicized and negotiated form of asymmetrical federalism.