How Russia Is Not Ruled

The state remains as important to Russia's prospects as ever. This is so not only because, as in any society, an effectively functioning state administration is necessary to the proper functioning of a complex economy and legal system, but also because, in Russian circumstances, factors of economic geography tend to increase costs of production compared to the rest of the world. These mutually reinforcing factors include: the extreme severity of the climate, the immense distances to be covered, the dislocation between (European) population centers and (Siberian) natural resource centers, and the inevitable predominance of relatively costly land transportation over sea-borne transportation. As a result, it is questionable whether Russia can exist as a world civilization under predominantly liberal economic circumstances: in a unified liberal global capital market, large-scale private direct capital investment will not be directed to massive, outdoor infrastructure projects typical of state investment in the Soviet period.

"...a challenging and thought-provoking read that should be considered alongside more sanguine forecasts about Russia's future." -Neil Robinson, University of Limerick, The Russian Review, "This study should set the standard for what is means to take Russia's problems seriously." -Venelin I. Ganev, Miami University of Ohio, Perspectives on Politics, "Lynch's use of both historical expertise and methodological skills is impressive. The book constructs a very detailed and complicated picture that draws on a broad and profound interdisciplinary knowledge." -Grazyna Skapska, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland, Slavic Review, "...elegantly written and carefully crafted book...this book reflects excellent scholarship and deserves a broad readership." -Reneo Lukic, Universite Laval a Quebec, International Journal

Allen C. Lynch is the Director of the Center for Russian and East European Studies and Hugh S. and Winifred B. Cumming Memorial Professor of International Affairs at the University of Virginia. He is the author of numerous books, including The Soviet Study of International Relations (Cambridge, 1987), which was the winner of the 1988 Marshall D. Shulman Award of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies and The Cold War is Over-Again (1992). He is also the author of numerous articles on Russian and Slavic studies.