Russia on the brink?

Contends that while optimists see a minimal state and a loose confederation of self-governing communities, realists see in Russia an ominous drift toward fragmentation and incipient anarchy, the Russia of 1917 irresistibly comes to mind. Boris Yeltsin's attempt to create a brand-new, comprehensive, Westernized order was daunting, and in the short term, impossible. Intolerable burden on the Russian people; Traumatic events over the past four years; Bold and creative initiatives.