The strong state in Russia: development and crisis

Tsygankov provides a succinct account of the major periods in evolution of Russia's strong state construct by reviewing the external and internal contexts of its emergence, progression, and fall in Muscovy, St. Petersburg, Soviet Union, and post-Soviet Russia with an emphasis on the last two decades. Each time a combination of these contexts was distinct thereby producing different political outcomes in Russia. The book argues that a perspective on Russia from a Western viewpoint is limited and that there has been an alternative way of thinking about the nation and its problems

Preface -- INTRODUCTION: Russia from two perspectives -- The roots of the Russian state: autocracy -- A BRIEF HISTORY: Emergence and development -- Decline and revolution -- The Soviet state -- THE TRANSITION: The Soviet breakup -- The Smuta of the 1990s -- THE REVIVAL: Putin's system -- State-led capitalism -- The managed democracy -- The normal great power -- THE CRISIS: Protest -- Ethno-nationalism -- Corruption -- Tensions with the West -- CONCLUSION: Whither the Russian state?

While focusing on contemporary developments of the Russian state, this book highlights those developments' roots in the historic concept of autocracy. The central scholarly question is not whether Russia will recreate a strong state, but, rather, what kind of a strong state it will be and under which circumstances it will function.