The Putin System

The Putin System shows how far from the path to a market-based democracy the country has deviated. It provides one of the most penetrating, if bleak, analyses of the Russian system of recent years. . . . Those seeking to understand todays Russia have much to gain from the English translation. -- Neil Buckley * Financial Times * Too insightful not to take notice. -- JP O'Malley * The Globe and Mail * A much-needed insider view from an important political figure and reform economist. -- Jack F. Matlock Jr., U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union (19871991) and author of <i>Reagan and Gorbachev: How the Cold War Ended</i> [The Putin System] is recommended as an assessment of Russia's political and economic system by an opposition leader. Moreover, while Yavlinsky's analysis is deeply pessimistic, his continued participation in politics reflects, by implication, a degree of optimism over the potential for change. * Choice * Grigory Yavlinsky, a democratic opposition politician in Russia who has run against both Yeltsin and Putin for president, presents a compelling view of the origins and development of the Putin system. -- Steven Simon * Survival * Grigory Yavlinskys book is of great importance. He gives us a clear-eyed diagnosis of Putinism, a phenomenon that exacerbates the crisis in democracy and casts a shadow over the world order in the twenty-first century. He also reminds us that Russia has brave, determined reformers who have on their side logic, principles, and lessons from the past and present that will guide their remedies for the future. -- Strobe Talbott, Brookings Institution Grigory Yavlinsky is one of the most acute, brilliant observers of and actors in contemporary Russian life, politics, and history. The Putin System makes a uniquely valuable contribution to understanding the Putin phenomenon in all its visible and invisible aspectsand why the West must pay attention. -- Jonathan Brent, author of <i>Inside the Stalin Archives: Discovering the New Russia</i> Yavlinskys carefully crafted and cohesively written arguments make The Putin System an analytically strong and thought-provoking source about the Putin regime. * New Eastern Europe * Russias decline, according to Yavlinsky, owes not to the scheming of one individual but to a systemic failure, namely, the lack of political competition in the Russian Federation. * Lossi 36 * A significant analysis by an experienced politician, figure of the Russian opposition, and academic economist. . . . The volume will reward the attention not only of specialists in international affairs and comparative politics but also of interested citizens. * Terrorism and Political Violence * An invaluable work from an insider/outsider who does not underestimate the scale of the problems which yielded Putin as the answer. In this respect, it is far from being a simplistic account of good and evil. * The European Legacy * The Putin System could lead to a greater understanding of a country that, to many at the moment, appears increasingly incomprehensible. * Rights in Russia *

Grigory Yavlinsky is a Russian economist and politician. A proponent of market-oriented reforms under Gorbachev, Yavlinsky has been a key figure of the opposition in post-Soviet Russia with the independent liberal party Yabloko, for which he was the 2018 presidential candidate. His books include Realeconomik: The Hidden Cause of the Great Recession (and How to Avert the Next One) (2011), Incentives and Institutions: The Transition to a Market Economy in Russia (2000), and 500 Days: Transition to the Market (1991). He teaches at the National Research University Higher School of Economics in Moscow.

Preface to the English Translation Acknowledgments 1. The Political System of Putins Russia and Its Significance for World Affairs 2. Russia Today: The History of How and Why It Came to Be 3. Authoritarianism on the Periphery: Understanding Russias Political System and How It Works 4. The Future of Autocracy in Russia: What Do We Have to Tolerate (and for How Long)? 5. In Lieu of a Conclusion Afterword: 2018 and the Imperative for Change Notes Index