Altogether a splendid contribution to Russian studies and an invaluable text for advanced courses on contemporary and recent Russia.

Robert C. Tucker, Princeton University

It is not often that social science theories stand up so well thirty years on in circumstances unimaginable at their birth. The power of congruence theory is remarkable.

Robert Putnam, Harvard University

An ambitious but persuasive study of political culture in post-communist Russia, rooted in the comparative literature. It is only now that we are able to take stock of the dramatic changes-but also some stubborn continuities-in Russia and Eastern Europe, and this set of related papers by a group of leading scholars in the field is the best attempt that has so far been made to do so. I will be directing my students to this book, and using it a lot myself.

Stephen White, University of Glasgow

Combines theoretical and technical sophistication and area depth with a patient recognition of the magnitude and complexity of the undertaking. The authors have won the strongest claim among contemporary scholars to a 'watching brief' of the historic Russian democratization drama. They have turned it into an 'experiment' promising to yield significant knowledge, insofar as human ingenuity is capable of drawing lawful observations from the study of human affairs.

Gabriel A. Almond, Stanford University, From The Foreword

All of the contributors do an excellent job of intergrating theory with current transition process in Russia.

K. Brennan, Quachita Baptist University, Choice Reviews

An unusually thoughtful and well-integrated collection of essays on regime change in present-day Russia. Slices through the usual boundary between state-centered and society-centered interpretations of post-authoritarian transitions.

Timothy J. Colton, Harvard University