Russia without Putin : money, power and the myths of the new Cold War

Russia without Putin Money, power and the myths of the new Cold War

Tony Wood, 1976-

Book - 2018

"How the West's obsession with Vladimir Putin prevents it from understanding Russia: It is impossible to think of Russia today without considering Vladimir Putin. More than any other major national leader, he personifies his country in the eyes of the outside world and dominates Western media coverage of Russia to an extraordinary extent. In Russia itself, he is likewise the center of attention for detractors and supporters alike. But as Tony Wood argues, this overwhelming focus on the president and his personality means that we understand Russia less than we ever did before. Too much attention is paid to the man, and not enough to the country outside the Kremlin's walls. In this timely and provocative analysis, Wood looks be...yond Putin to explore the profound changes Russia has undergone since 1991. In the process, he challenges many of the common assumptions made about contemporary Russia. Though commonly viewed as an ominous return to Soviet authoritarianism, Putin's rule should instead be seen as a direct continuation of Yeltsin's in the 1990s. And though many of Russia's problems today are blamed on legacies of the Soviet past, Wood argues that the core features of Putinism--a predatory, authoritarian elite presiding over a vastly unequal society--are integral to the system set in place after the fall of Communism. What kind of country has emerged from Russia's post-Soviet transformations, and where might it go in future? Russia without Putin culminates in an arresting analysis of the country's foreign policy--identifying the real power dynamics behind its escalating clashes with the West--and reflect on the paths Russia might take in the twenty-first century"--

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Subjects
Putin, Vladimir Vladimirovich, > 1952-
Oligarchy > Russia (Federation)
Russia (Federation) > Politics and government > 1991-
Published
London ; Brooklyn, NY : Verso 2018.
Language
English
Main Author
Tony Wood, 1976- (author)
Physical Description
210 pages : map ; 22 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9781788731249
  • Introduction
  • 1. The Man and the System
  • 2. Faces of Power
  • 3. Red Bequests
  • 4. An Opposition Divided
  • 5. After the Maidan
  • 6. Russia in the World
  • Epilogue
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Index
Review by Kirkus Book Review

Books on the increasingly pugnacious Vladimir Putin, seemingly Russia's president for as long as he wants, are not in short supply, but this short, shrewd analysis stands out."Not since the days of Reagan," writes New Left Review editorial board member Wood, "has Russia seemed so central to US political lifeand not since the depths of the Cold War has it been so unambiguously assumed across most of the political spectrum that Russia is the United States' principal enemy." There is less there than meets the eye, according to the author, who maintains that Putin is simply carrying on the policies of his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin. Leaving the KGB in 1991, Putin made his reputation as a hardworking, absolutely loyal functionary. As designated successor in 2000, his first decree granted Yeltsin lifelong immunity from prosecution. Drunken and unpopular, Yeltsin was an easy act to follow, but Putin had a stroke of luck. Oil prices, the major source of government income, reversed their decline, allowing much of the population its first taste of prosperity. No more liberal than his predecessor but more efficient, Putin brought the media under government control, hobbled rival political parties without eliminating elections, and converted Russia into the "imitation democracy" that Western observers deplore. Few influential Russians, Putin included, pine for the old Soviet Union. The sole exception is its superpower status, whose loss rankles, and Wood believes that America's greatest mistake was rubbing their nose in it by expanding NATO into Eastern Europe and meddling in areas like Ukraine and Georgia, Russia's backyard. The amenable Yeltsin complained bitterly, and Putin's push backe.g., the annexation of Crimeawas popular at home. Wood concludes that Putin has no great ambition except to stay in power and that successors will demonstrate the same patriotic fervor and deal with the same internal problems and dependence on oil prices that vex Putin.Discouraging but insightful. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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