'A very comprehensive, informative and well-ordered volume ... this is a genuinely valuable collection, and is essential reading for anyone who wishes to study seriously the politics of Russia"s emerging and troubled democracy.' - Europe-Asia Studies'The collection is valuable but will be most appreciated by those able to integrate its analytical diversity within the broader context of the fragmentation of Russian government, the weak rule of law, and escalating political violence.' - Choice'Of immense help in unearthing the roots of the political parties and in linking them to the forces at work in Russia.' - Frontline

• Party development in the regions: when did parties start to play a part in politics?, Ruth Brown; regional party system gormation in Russia: the deviant case of Sverdlovsk Oblast, Vladimir Gel'man and Grigorii V. Golosov; the electoral effects of presidentialism in post-Soviet Russia, Robert G. Moser; party platforms: towards a definition of the Russian political spectrum, Sarah Oates; ideology, uncertainty and the rise of anti-system parties in post-communist Russia, Stephen E. Hanson; left or right? the CPRF and the problem of 'relevance' in a time of uncertainty, Neil Robinson; should party in parliament be weak or strong? the rules debate in the Russian state duma, Moshe Haspel; political conflict and institutional design: paths of party development in Russia, Thomas F. Remington; where now in the study of Russian political parties?, Frederic J. Fleron, Jr., Richard Ahl and Finbarr Lane; the lessons of comparative politics: Russian political parties as independent variables?, Paul Webb and Paul G. Lewis; electoral statistics, 1993-96, Stephen White

'A very comprehensive, informative and well-ordered volume ... this is a genuinely valuable collection, and is essential reading for anyone who wishes to study seriously the politics of Russia"s emerging and troubled democracy.' - Europe-Asia Studies'The collection is valuable but will be most appreciated by those able to integrate its analytical diversity within the broader context of the fragmentation of Russian government, the weak rule of law, and escalating political violence.' - Choice'Of immense help in unearthing the roots of the political parties and in linking them to the forces at work in Russia.' - Frontline

• Party development in the regions: when did parties start to play a part in politics?, Ruth Brown; regional party system gormation in Russia: the deviant case of Sverdlovsk Oblast, Vladimir Gel'man and Grigorii V. Golosov; the electoral effects of presidentialism in post-Soviet Russia, Robert G. Moser; party platforms: towards a definition of the Russian political spectrum, Sarah Oates; ideology, uncertainty and the rise of anti-system parties in post-communist Russia, Stephen E. Hanson; left or right? the CPRF and the problem of 'relevance' in a time of uncertainty, Neil Robinson; should party in parliament be weak or strong? the rules debate in the Russian state duma, Moshe Haspel; political conflict and institutional design: paths of party development in Russia, Thomas F. Remington; where now in the study of Russian political parties?, Frederic J. Fleron, Jr., Richard Ahl and Finbarr Lane; the lessons of comparative politics: Russian political parties as independent variables?, Paul Webb and Paul G. Lewis; electoral statistics, 1993-96, Stephen White