This book is part of the "Contemporary States and Societies" series. Although not a history book as such, it does give the historical context of Russia from Kievan Rus through the Mongol occupation, the Romanovs and the Soviet era before analysing Russia today. Chapters cover politics, economics, social questions and Russia's relations with the rest of the world, from the "near abroad" to the West. An interesting chapter also looks at Russia's culture and its self-perception, or the "Russian idea", a debate that goes back to the nineteenth century conflict between Slavophiles and Westerners.
Bacon's conclusions are cautious. While some see in Vladimir Putin a man determined to turn the clock back to the Soviet period, Bacon shows that although Putin seeks to make Russia "great" again, he rejects Communism as a blind alley and speaks of the "outrageous price" that the people had to pay for the Bolshevik experiment. Nor however does he completely reject the Soviet experience, but instead points out the positive achievements of that era such as the space programme. An interesting list is that of the ten Russian heroes named by Putin, which includes pre-revolutionary as well as revolutionary period giants, men of literature such as Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky as well as scientists and engineers such as the Soviet rocket leader Korolev and military figures such as Suvurov and Kutuzov. If there is one watchword that emerges from the Putin-Medvedev era, it is stability, which after the chaos of the 1990s is probably understandable. Difficulties such as the legal standing of the Yukos/Khodorkovsky affair are not glossed over, nor the challenges to Russian society in the coming years such as the falling birthrate and health issues. In the economics chapter the author suggests that the crash of 1998 may have had some positive effects inasmuch as it slowed the purchase of foreign imports and encouraged production of domestic goods and services. In the first decade of the century the Russian economy has in fact grown, although largely on the back of high prices for raw materials, in particular oil. It will be interesting to see what the third edition of the book has to say.
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