Yeltsin's Russia: Myths and Reality

by Lilia Shevtsova, Arnold Lawrence Horelick, Liliia Fedorovna Shevtsova

Release Date: May, 1999

Edition: Paperback

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Well researched and thorough, but not a great book.

This book provides a chronological history of political events in Russia under Yeltsin. It is well researched and very thorough, but it has some problems that keep it from being a great book.

There is little social and economic context provided. It assumes the reader has a knowledge of what social and economic forces are impinging on the political events. Who for example are the "oligarchs," or the "natural monopolies," and what role do they play? This gets little explanation.

This is not an insider's story. There is no feeling of seeing deeply into the different personalities. You can argue that the book is about history and is not investigative reporting, but nevertheless the 2-dimensionality of the main players in the drama leaves the book flat.

There is nothing to help the reader separate out the more significant from the less significant events. This is an important role for the historian, to bring out the defining and pivotal moments of historical events. This book is simply a chronology.

The book gives a glimpse into the nature of politics in Russia today and for this reason it is valuable. But the academic historian will find it more valuable than the general reader who, like me, may find it a disappointment.