Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the question of 'whither Russia?' has been the source of ceaseless speculation both at home and abroad.

Introduction. What comes after socialism? Peter Rutland; Part I. The Comparative Dimension: 1. What went wrong? Anatoly M. Khazanov; 2. Communist legacies and new trajectories Alexander J. Motyl; 3. Learning from post-socialism Valerie Bunce; 4. Ukraine's hollow decade Ilya Prizel; Part II. Russia in Free Fall? Key Challenges: 5. The Russian transition to the market Marshall I. Goldman; 6. Potholes on the road to a flourishing Russia Theodore H. Friedgut; 7. The search for a national identity in the Russia of Yeltsin and Putin Vera Tolz; Part III. The Russian Political System: Toward Stabilisation?: 8. The dilemmas of federalism Oksana Oracheva; 9. The evolution of the multiparty system Andrey Ryabov; 10. The elections since 1989 Nikolai V. Petrov; 11. Leaders, structural conditions and Russia's foreign policy Rajan Menon; Index.