Yeltsin's Russia and the West

by Andrew Felkay

Overview

Throughout history, strong-willed Russian autocrats have rescued their country from foreign domination, disorder, and possible chaos, often using the cruelest means to achieve their ends. Gorbachev tried to implement socialism with a human face in the Soviet Union, but failed. In the early 1990s, once again, Russia needed a strong hand to pull it out of chaos. In August 1991 Boris Yeltin emerged as such a leader, but unlike earlier strong leaders, he was determined to pull Russia out of the Communist morass and affect his country's integration with Western democracies through democratic means.

Felkay carefully analyzes the impact of Yeltsin on the newly evolving relationship between Russia and the Western democracies. But separating the process of formulating foreign and domestic policies would be impossible. From the onset, Yeltsin kept both reins of decision-making firmly in hand. Accordingly, Felkay assesses Yeltsin's effectiveness in moving his country toward democracy and a market economy, and he shows the ups and downs of his pro-Western foreign policies. This book provides an important analysis for scholars, students, and other researchers involved with Russian studies, international relations, and comparative politics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275965389
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	05/30/2002
Series:	Humanistic Perspectives on International Relations
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.75(d)
Lexile:	1360L (what's this?)

About the Author

ANDREW FELKAY is Professor of Russian Studies at Kutztown University. Among his earlier publications are Out of Russian Orbit (Greenwood Press, 1997) and Hungary and the USSR, 1956-1988 (Greenwood Press, 1989).

Table of Contents

Introduction
The Making of a Rebel
From Engineer to Party Activist
Falling from Grace and Reemergence
The Way to the Top
Struggle for Power
Yeltsin Takes Control
The Demise of the Soviet Union
Yeltsin Wins a New Constitution
Yeltsin and the West—The Early Years
Backlash of the Imposed Democracy
Cooling of Pro-Western Policies
Yeltsin Holds On
The 1996 Presidential Election
The Struggle against NATO's Expansion
Government Reshuffle and Economic Crisis
Challenges at Home and Abroad
Kosovo
The Search for a Successor
Yeltsin Had the Last Word
Conclusion
Selected Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Concluding that "history will be kinder to him than his contemporaries," Felkay (Russian studies, Kutztown U.) sketches the political history of Boris Yeltsin's tenure in the office of the Russian presidency. Although recognizing the Russia's domestic and foreign affairs are difficult to separate into distinct phenomena, Felkay attempts to analyze Yeltsin's relationship with the Western powers in a chronological fashion. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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