American Russian Law Institute
A US-Russian not-for profit public
policy research and advisory organization dedicated to promoting legal reform in Russia
and newly independent countries of the former USSR, based upon democratic principles,
market economy and rule of law
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New York Times
Book Review Desk
Books in Brief:
Nonfiction
By Timothy L. O'Brien
By Thane Gustafson
Cambridge University,
cloth, $54.95; paper, $19.95
For decades, Russia has been a screen on which American paranoia, fears and dreams have been projected: the Red scare, cold war skulduggery, nuclear nightmares and, for the last several years, free-market fantasies. Russia's experiment with capitalism came to an abrupt and ugly halt in the summer of 1998, when its currency cratered and its economy collapsed. Today, amid various corruption scandals and an uncertain political landscape, there is vigorous debate about whether Russia's economy is on the rebound. This argument is not merely academic nor is it the stuff of boring economics texts; the stability of a vibrant, captivating country still chock-full of nuclear weapons depends on its economic recovery. So for anyone interested in an engaging, sweeping tour of the Russian economy in the 1990's and a framework for understanding the complicated financial and political dynamics at work in Russia, Thane Gustafson's ''Capitalism Russian-Style'' is a superb guide. Gustafson, a professor of government at Georgetown University, tackles his subject with authority and grace, offering bounteous facts and anecdotes that never drag down his narrative or his argument. While clearly taking financiers and public officials in Russia and the West to task for the failed economic policies of the 1990's, Gustafson is optimistic about Russia's future. ''Russia today has sunk to a level of weakness not seen since the early 1920's, when the country lay prostrate after a decade of war, revolution and civil war,'' Gustafson writes. But, he notes, ''the tide of change in Russia is not spent; indeed it is still building.'' Timothy L. O'Brien.
