Russia's invasion of Ukraine presents a major challenge for Russian studies. It has demonstrated the imperative to search for better ways to understand Russia. At the same time, the war has spotlighted Russian imperial ambitions and colonial attitudes toward countries around it and ethnic minorities within it, raising uncomfortable questions about whether our own views of these countries and peoples reflect this biased Russian gaze.
Understanding Russia is more important than ever and diverse perspectives are needed. With a stronger focus on informal institutions, marginalised voices and "de-centering" of Russian studies, Developments in Russian Politics 10 brings together a diverse author team to offer fresh viewpoints on a rapidly evolving subject. Discussing established topics such as executive leadership, parties and elections as well as newer issues of national identity, protest, and Russia and Greater Eurasia, this new edition analyses the political system in which Putin's influence can be understood and covers frequently overlooked topics like the informal economy and climate change.
Breaking with the tradition of organizing Russian Politics around formal institutions and instead emphasising the societal factors and informal structures and processes that underpin support for Russia's political regime, this new edition offers:
- Topical and theoretically informed coverage of major issues from top scholars
- Analysis of how Russia's past influences its contemporary politics in counterintuitive ways
- Dedicated chapters on the Russia-Ukraine war, Russian Foreign Policy and Chechnya
- Chapters on all of the key topics covered by typical courses on Russian politics, including protest movement and civil society, and gender.
The politics of any country, especially Russia at this moment in time, are volatile. Developments in Russian Politics 10 provides readers with a conceptual toolkit for understanding the dynamism of Russian politics, whatever the future may bring.

Preface - Henry E. Hale, George Washington University, USA; Juliet Johnson, McGill University, Canada; and Tomila Lankina, LSE, UK
1. Putin and the Dynamics of Russia's Political System - Henry E. Hale, George Washington University, USA
2. Russian Imperial and Soviet History - Kristy Ironside, McGill University, Canada
3. How Russia's Past Influences Current Politics - Tomila V. Lankina, LSE, UK
4. Nationalism, Identity, and the Russia-Ukraine War - Gulnaz Sharafutdinova, King's College London, UK
5. Russia's Gendered Politics - Valerie Sperling, Clark University, USA
6. Russia's Economic Policies - Juliet Johnson, McGill University, Canada
7. Russia's Informal Economy - Yoshiko M. Herrera, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA; and Evgeniya Mitrokhina, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
8. Formal Institutions of Government - Grigorii V. Golosov, European University at Saint Petersburg, Russia
9. Authoritarian Mechanics - David Szakonyi, George Washington University, USA
10. Federalism and Centre-Periphery Relations - Vladimir Gel'man, European University at Saint Petersburg, Russia
11. Chechnya - Marat Iliyasov, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
12. Inequality and Marginalized Groups - Jeremy Morris, Aarhus University, Denmark
13. Protest and Civil Society - Katerina Tertytchnaya, University College London, UK
14. Climate Change - Debra Javeline, University of Notre Dame, USA
15. Russia's Invasion and Ukraine's Resistance - Maria Popova, McGill University, Canada; and Oxana Shevel, Tufts University, USA
16. Russian Foreign Policy - Kathryn Stoner, Stanford University, USA