| Synopsis: |
The fall of the USSR left the questions of how Russia was to be ruled, and by what institutions, unanswered. To a large extent they remain unanswered today. Institution- building in Russia has been chaotic as competing politicians and elites have subverted institutions and failed to agree to the rules of the game of politics. A complex array of institutions with different organizational cultures, overlapping functions, but poorly defined responsibilities has been thrown up in the upheaval of Russian politics. This book describes the development and impact on politics of the presidency, the State Duma, the judiciary, regional government and the 'power ministries', and analyses the role of institutions in economic and foreign policy-making. Other chapters examine public attitudes to institutions and the crisis of state-society relations. |