This work explores the inability of Russia's leaders over the last two centuries to create the foundations of a viable modern society. The problem, the author argues, is rooted in a cultural trap endemic to Russian society and linked to a unique sense of identity embodied by the "Russian idea".

When the Yeltsin government declared war on the Communist past, it broke with deeply held Russian values and traditions. McDaniel shows that in cutting people off from their pasts and promoting the West as the sole model of modernity, the reformers have simultaneously undermined the foundations of Russian morality and the people's sense of a future. Unwittingly, the Yeltsin government has thereby annihilated its own authority. McDaniel lived in Russia for three years during both the Communist and post-Communist periods. Basing his analysis on broad historical research, extensive travels, countless interviews and conversations, and friendships with Russians from all walks of life, McDaniel emphasizes the perils of assuming that Russians understand the world in the same way that we do, and so can and should become like us. Challenging and provocative in its claims, this book is intended for anyone seeking to understand Russia's attempts to create a new society.

Acknowledgments

Ch. 1
The Russian Idea

Ch. 2
The Dilemmas of Tsarist Modernization

Ch. 3
The Logic of Soviet Communism

Ch. 4
A Viable Form of Modern Society?

Ch. 5
The Failure of Yeltsin's Reforms


Notes


Select Bibliography


Index