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An overview of the state of the mass media in Russia. It is noted that, while Russian journalists and writers no longer fear being sent to Gulags for writing stories the government disapproves of, the media is now under pressure from the government of Vladimir Putin not to publish or televise stories that are critical of or embarrassing to the government.

The fight between successful and unsuccessful Communists is going to lead post-Soviet politics of command and cliquishness to a civic system in which people will have their say. This will lead to the dilution of many features of the nomenclatural system of power structure that advocates obedience and loyalty to a single leader. This tendency, prevalent during the erstwhile Soviet Union, is still a reality in the post-Soviet era. Privatization and underground entrepreneurs are the other survivors from the old regime. However, the media has been liberated to a large extent.

The failure of the Aug 1991 Soviet coup, and the subsequent disintegration of the USSR, surprised Western observers. A broad analysis of the breakup and political transformation of the USSR is given.

The article discusses various issues on the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russian President Boris Yeltsin condemned the coup as an anti-constitutional act, an attempt to remove from power the legally elected authorities of the Russian Republic. The final and decisive conflict in the USSR, then, was not between Communism and anti-Communism, as the whole history of the Soviet Union might have led one to expect, but rather between Russia and the Soviet Union. In the end Russia destroyed the Soviet Union, not because Russians wished to do so but because of the anomalous status of their republic within the USSR.

Works of fiction in Russian have increased in variety, quantity and quality as the selection entered for the Booker Prize indicated. Liudmila Ulitskaia's 'Sonechka,' written in pure Russian, is an outstanding work. 'Zapiski zhiltsa,' by Semen Lipin, about life in an Odessa street from approximately the period of the Russian Revolution till the end of the Second World War, and Viktor Astafiev's 'Prokliaty i ubity' are two good works by older generation writers. The year's best novel was Vladimir Makanin's 'Stol, pokrytyi suknom i s grafinom poseredine.'

The Paradox of Perestroika THE SOVIET economy is, of course, the Achilles' heel of Mikhail Gorbachev's reform program. The economic system established by Stalin has proved, despite all its conspicuous [...]

ABSTRACTThis book review relays key theoretical points put forward by Nicholas J. Wheeler in his book Trusting Enemies, in particular how face-to-face bonding between state leaders is essential for building trust between states in conflictual relationships. The reviewer, Geoffrey A. Hosking, supports many of the arguments put forward by Wheeler but also challenges some ideas around how identity and suspension played out in trust building in the historical cases presented in the book. He suggests additional explanations and issues, such as the background work of other officials. The review also covers the notion of security communities and highlights possible deeper insights into their development. It ends by pointing out how timely, telling and necessary Wheeler’s analysis is given the current international relation challenges.

Russia and the Russians. THERE used to be two kinds of Kremlinologist. One saw an almost unbroken continuity between Bolshevik rule and previous forms of Russian statehood. The other took [...]

RUSSIANS HANKER AFTER THE SECURITIES OF THE PAST RATHER THAN THE DELIGHTS OF DEMOCRACY AND THE RULE OF LAW - AND PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN IS HAPPY TO OBLIGE

A risky occupationInternational Broadcasting - a new dimension of Western Diplomacy (The Washington Papers No 35 vol IV) by David M. Abshire Sage Publications 90ppBroadcasting in Sweden by Edward W. Ploman Routledge & Kegan Paul with the International Broadcast Institute 65ppThe Mass Media of the German-Speaking Countries by John Sandford Oswald Wolff 235ppBroadcasting and Democracy in France by Ruth Thomas Bradford University Press with Crosby Lockwood Staples 207ppBroadcasting and Democracy in West Germany by Arthur Williams Bradford University Press with Crosby Lockwood Staples 198ppSeparate but unequalSimple Justice by Richard Kluger Alfred A. Knopf 824 ppWhither Russia?Samosoznanic: sbornik statei (Insights: a collection of articles) edited by P. Litvinov, M. Meer-son-Aksenov, B. Shragin Khronika Press 320ppCruel shibbolethsThe Law of Press Censorship in India by Soli J. Sorabjee Tripathi (Bombay) 272pp

A literary criticism of the book “Gorbachev: His Life and Times" by William Taubman is presented. It talks about the biography of the twentieth century politician Mikhail Gorbachev who emerged at the top of the Communist Party. It tells about the Gorbachev work of going against the atrocities of politician Joseph Stalin.

Recounts how Lenin ceded to Germany and Austria much of the old Empire's best agricultural land and richest industrial areas, in order to allow the rump of Russia to survive as a sovereign state. His logic enabled Soviet Russia in the following years to re-absorb most of the former Russian territories, from within and from without. The Russian Empire, in both its Tsarist and Soviet guises, has always been a strange and semi-international beast, pursuing security and status.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to an article by Julian Gough in the July 2008 issue.

Expresses the author's feelings about judging the 1993 Russian Booker prize. Insights on the vestiges of Soviet literature; Evaluation of the literary works of Russian writers; Vladimir Makanin's `Baize-covered Table with Decanter' as winner of the prize; Themes of the post-Soviet literature.

Argues against Boris Yeltsin's using strong-armed tactics to prevent Russia's slide into chaos. Showdown with the parliament in Moscow; Relation between Russia and other republics of the former Soviet Union; Imperialism; Yeltsin's failures; Guided democracy.

Presents a forum of commentary in reaction to the article by William Odom that appeared in the Fall 2001 issue of the periodical 'The National Interest' that deals with Russia prospects and how United States (U.S.) foreign policy should adopt to them. Impact of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on Russian foreign policy goals; Speculation on the future of Russian-U.S. relations.