General description
'Russia after the Cold War' is a detailed yet accessible overview of the modern day Russia in search for its new identity, and the social, economic and political dilemmas it faces in its pursuit.

Positive aspects
'Russia after the Cold War' has an excellent introductory chapter as a general background to the subject. The book covers a wide range of relevant issues ranging form from political culture and public opinion to Russia's relations with China and Japan, covering political, economic, social and cultural aspects of life in Soviet and present day Russia. The authors look into complex subjects and debates such models of transition and democratisation. The text is written by a number of distinguished academics in various fields discussed, such as Richard Sawka (on Russian nationalism and democratisation) and Mark Galeotti (on crime, corruption and the law). Each chapter is very well written and has a definite structure: 'Introduction' provides a good background, 'Conclusion' sums up ideas. Each chapter is full of facts, data, statistics, charts and tables, while good use of maps, boxes and bullet points illustrating ideas, reviewing main concepts and key personalities enhance its reader-friendliness. Although each chapter is written by a different author, it is easy for the reader to read on from one chapter to the next. The balance between issues discussed is impressive. Many viewpoints are put forward in a critical, yet objective way.

Negative aspects
While 'Russia after the Cold War' does a good job both describing and explaining events with a view from the top, and almost totally ignores a perspective from the bottom of the social ladder. More individual case studies could have been included - individuals, small enterprises. The book lacks illustrations, so a beginner in the subject (who the book is primarily intended for) may finish reading without being familiar with any of the faces in the life of Russia. The text also lacks a comparative perspective. Like many other texts in the field it needs to be updated more regularly to take into account more often to take into account recent developments in Russia and Former Soviet Union, such as Putin's presidency.

Conclusion
'Russia after the Cold War' is ideal for anybody interested in the subject of modern day Russia. While providing a comprehensive coverage of main issues and debates, it does so in accessible and lively style requiring no prior knowledge in the topic, though the text could benefit from more perspectives and illustrations.

I purchased this book and found it very useful to get the information I needed on this whole Russia-Chechnya issue. If you are doing a report on this subject or just want to become educated about it, I encourage and recommend that you purchase this book.

Robert English makes a compelling case for the utility of ideas in changing national policy, which one hopes might have relevence to the current international crisis. National identity, English maintains, is not immutable. He argues that intellectuals play a key role in creating new identities -- they are "storytellers" who can be agents of belief change even in countries "where the state controls discourse over history and politics, imposing an identity from above through its monopoly over education, the media, and scholarship." Taking on those on the right who embrace the idea that Reagan and SDI won the war as well as those on the left who don't believe containment had an effect, English offers a narrative that seems far more convincing. Ideas and intellectuals, he argues, matter.

"The war broke out in Europe ....It was obvious that enslavement was the immediate prospect for the people of the Western Ukraine and Western Byelorussia, who had been forcibly incorporated into Poland in 1920. On 17 Sept. 1939 Soviet Troops marched into Poland to protect the lives and property of these populations. The Soviet border moved to the west. The anti-Soviet campaign that was launched in the American Press as a result of this action demonstrated clearly the 'double standard' by which the United States sometimes judges international actions." This book represents a novel venture for both scholorship and publishing -- it is an account of Soviet-American relations written for an American audience by Soviet historians. Although the authors point out that getting Soviets and Americans to agree on their interrelations is no easier than was docking Soyuz or Apollo in space, they see this book as a positive influence on mutual cooperatiion between the two countries in the post-Cold War years. The authors trace the course of U.S. - Soviet relations from the years prior to the American Revolution to the human rights issues of the 1970s. For the most part, they see those relations as being characterized by American failure to take advantage of opportunities to improve them. Woodrow Wilson, according to the authors, adopted and anti-Soviet position from the start; his fourteen points had a two-fold Bolshevik direction. And FDR treated the USSR with as much respect and understanding as he felt necessary to make it play its proper role in America's balance of power straegy -- and no more. Finally, the authors assess the prospects for peaceful coexistance, which they see as an objective necessity for international relations.

I consider this one of Wells' best books. Seriously. Wells was a Fabian socialist and thus had some sympathy with the cause of the Bolshevik revolution of 1917, although he did not share the Marxist pretence to science, nor the Leninist dogmatism.

Wells is specific and perceptive in this book. It is almost shocking just how level-headed this scifi and utopian writer could be when he wanted to. It is a typical British analysis: empirical, rational, and sedate. There is no Germanic high abstractions and needless philosophizing, no French or any other utopianism, no Russian maximalism and rigidity. On his trip Wells met many people and visitied quite a few places. He came away from this experience pessimistic about the future of Russia, noting that it was slipping into anarchy and even greater backwardness. He did not, however, that the Russian communism and Lenin in particular left some hope for creativity and imaginative government. The book depicts the grim situation of Russia during the civil war. I urge people to read this book to understand the desperate historical conditions under which communism has come to power for the first time in human history.

i am an utter fanatic when it comes to russian history, and this book is my favorite point of reference. i am not lucky enough to own a copy of my very own :( but my school library has it, and it is always out (my fault). for anyone who loves history but doesn't know much about russia, this book is a great jumping-off point. it covers the modest beginnings of one of the greatest autocratic nations in history, then moves on to Ivan Grosny, Feodor, last of the house of Rurik, the false Dmitrys, Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, and russia's leaders during the time of napoleon and the last of the Romanovs. the writing is fluid and clear, easy to understand, and there are lots of colour plates of famous mosaics and paintings, as well as photographs and maps. an excellent book, a perennial favorite, and it SHOULD DEFINITELY BE REPRINTED! i have wriiten several letters to the publishing company but they haven't quite borrowed a clue yet.

Russia Upside Down is the story of the Kuladze family and their life in the Soviet Union from the social upheavals of the 1920s, through the terror of the 30s, and the horrors of World War II. We are shown the originally enthusiasm for Khrushcev turn to bitter disappointment as his economic policies failed and this smiling Khrushchev became one of the worst of the Soviet persecutors of the Christian church in Russian history. Then there is tumultuous revolving door of leadership during the Brezhnev, Anropov and other "old men" of the Party. Finally there is Mikhail Gorbachev whose new thinking rapidly became old thinking and the Soviet Union collapses, only do begin to emerge again as something to be feared. Russia Upside Down shows us a world where Christening a baby must be done in total secrecy, yet millions do it anyway. Frank Columbus has written an engaging, candid, revealing, insightful, and ultimate testament to the endurance of the human spirit in even the most chaotic and repressive political, economic, and social conditions.

What I appreciated most about Heyward Isham's Russia's Fate Through Russian Eyes: Voices of the New Generation was its appealingly fresh tone. Russia-watchers like myself are continually frustrated by Western representations and misrepresentations of this fascinating, nuanced nation.

According to many reports, one would think that all Russians were vodka-swilling philosophers, world-weary sex goddesses, or gold-chained criminals. Obviously, these elements are present in Russian life, as indeed they are elsewhere, but the sheer complexity of this country is glossed over when the West reduces its understanding of Russians to simple categories and tired stereotypes.

What Heyward Isham has managed to do so beautifully in this anthology is allow the contributors to discuss their own lives in their own words. In doing so, he blows the tired stereotype of the "passive, lazy Russian" to smithereens.

I don't know if I've ever read as eloquent and evocative an essay as Olga Lobyzeva's discussion of Russia's Far North. It reads like a love affair. Theater director Vladimir Mirzoev provides a fascinating dialogue on the state of art in the New Russia the likes of which I've never seen anywhere, either. Frankly, some of the pieces on tax reform and labor laws left me a bit cold, but just listen to Nadezhda Azhgikhina talk about feminism, gender roles, and the media representation of women in Russia today! Why isn't this woman an internationally renowned figure? Why isn't Ms. magazine profiling her? Why isn't she teaching college courses at home and abroad?

In short, I learned from this book as I've seldom learned from any source on Russia. Letting Russians speak to an international audience in their own words is such a simple idea -- but who else has done this? I recommend this book highly to Russophiles like myself, as well as anyone with a natural curiosity as to how people in other parts of the world are living, struggling, working, and dreaming.

Lensen's narrative of the Admiral Putiatin's 1853-54 mission offers a unique perspective on the 1854 "opening" of Japan. Most American historians give Commodore Perry far too much credit and discount Putiatin's efforts, but Lensen shows that Putiatin's presence had a decisive influence on the Japanese decision to negotiate. Plus, Putiatin gained a better treaty for the Russians than Perry did for the Americans. In addition to its scholarly treatment of the material, Lensen's book is a rip-roaring good sailor's tale. Few academic books read as well or are as engaging as this one.

This work -- the latest of Micheal Khodarkovsky's books -- is a well-written and very thorough study of Russia's relations with the frontier peoples in the Early Modern period. Tracing the relationship from the decline of the Mongol Hordes in the fifteenth century to the outright colonization of the North Caucasus and Central Asia in the succeeding centuries, Khodarkovsky fills a serious gap in the standard histories of Russia.

A gifted Russian historian, who is also well-versed in Islamic and especially Ottoman history, Khodarkovsky is able to tell the history of Russia's relations with the Muslim peoples on its frontiers without the biases of a Russianist or an Islamicist. This book is essential reading for anyone wishing to gain a better understanding of the modern North Caucasus and Central Asia, of Islam in the Russian world, and of Russian colonization.