From Putin to Medvedev
From Putin to Medvedev
Continuity or Change?
Larry Black & Michael Johns, eds.
6 X 9 inches, 204 pages
In March 2008, Dmitry Medvedev was elected president of Russia. Only the third person to hold that office since the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991, he follows Boris Yeltsin, 1991-1999, and Vladimir Putin, 2000-2008. Just as Putin was hand-picked by Yeltsin to hold that post, Medvedev was chosen by Putin. In turn, Medvedev named Putin prime minister. For that reason, many observers believe that this "tandem" form of government is one still dominated by Putin. But is it?
These thirteen essays, almost all of which are written by Canadian and Russian scholars, attempt to put the succession in context, and also describe and evaluate today's Russia, a country in a state of major transition.
It includes studies on domestic issues, such as Russian politics, its legal system, its social system, the centre and the regions, and corruption; in foreign relations, there are pieces on Russia as a locus of world influence, Russia and the West, the European Union, China, the Muslim world, and India. Certain characteristics of the Russian economy, and Russia's place in the international economy, are featured as well.
