Russia and Eurasia 2019-2020

Published and updated annually, Russia and Eurasia deals with the twelve independent republics that became members of the Commonwealth of Independent States following the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1992. The text focuses strongly on recent economic and political developments with shorter sections dealing with foreign policy, the military, religion, education, and specific cultural elements that help to define each republic and differentiate one from the other. Approximately one-third of the book is devoted to Russia, but also includes sections on Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. How the Commonwealth of Independent States came into being and how it has evolved since 1992 is also discussed. The combination of factual accuracy and up-to-date detail along with its informed projections make this an outstanding resource for researchers, practitioners in international development, media professionals, government officials, potential investors and students.

Brent Hierman is an assistant professor in the Department of International Studies and Political Science at Virginia Military Institute. He earned his Ph.D. in Political Science with a minor in Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University. His fieldwork for his dissertation was conducted in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and was funded by a Fulbright-Hays DDRA Fellowship. Prior to earning his Ph.D., he served in the Peace Corps in Uzbekistan. Brent has published some of his research on Eurasian politics in journals such as Europe-Asia Studies, Journal of Peasant Studies, Problems of Post-Communism and Nationalities Papers. The courses that he regularly teaches at VMI include Post-Soviet Politics and Central Asian Politics. He last visited the region in 2017.