Books in the Routledge Contemporary Russia and Eastern Europe Series series

This book sheds new light on the continuing debate within political thought as to what constitutes power, and what distinguishes legitimate from illegitimate power. It does so by considering the experience of Russia, a polity where experiences of the legitimacy of power and the collapse of power offer a contrast to Western experiences on which most political theory, formulated in the West, is based. The book considers power in a range of contexts ΓÇô philosophy and discourse; the rule of law and its importance for economic development; the use of culture and religion as means to legitimate power; and liberalism and the reasons for its weakness in Russia. The book concludes by arguing that the Russian experience provides a useful lens through which ideas of power and legitimacy can be re-evaluated and re-interpreted, and through which the idea of "the West" as the ideal model can be questioned.

This book presents a comprehensive overview of current developments related to Russia's military sector. It considers recent military reforms, changes in civil-military relations, and the continuing huge economic significance of Russia's military-industrial complex.

This book explores the emergence, and in Poland, Hungary, and Russia the coming to power, of politicians and political parties rejecting the consensus around market reforms, democratisation, and rule of law that has characterised moves towards an "open society" from the 1990s.

Under communism there was, in the countries of Eastern Europe, a high level of gender equality in the labour market, particularly in terms of high participation rates by women. The transition from communism has upset this situation, with different impacts in the different countries. This book presents a comprehensive overview of gender and the labour market since the fall of communism in a wide range of Eastern European countries. Each country chapter describes the nature of inequality in the particular country, and goes on to examine the factors responsible for this, including government policies, changing social attitudes, levels of educational attainment and the impact of motherhood. Overall, the book provides an interesting comparison to the situation in Western developed countries, outlining differences and similarities. No one single Eastern European model emerges while, as in Western developed countries, a range of experiences and trends is the norm.

This book adopts a novel analytical approach to understanding how Russia's stalled democratisation is related to the incomplete liberalisation of the economy. Based on extensive original comparative study of Russiäs regions, the book explores the precise channels of interaction that create the mutuality of property rights, entrepreneurship, rule of law, norms of citizenship and liberal democracy. It demonstrates that the extent of democratisation varies across regions, and that this variation is connected to the extent of liberalisation of the economy.

The purpose of this book is to move beyond the approach which views energy as a purely geopolitical tool of the Russian state and assumes a 'one size fits all' approach to Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) energy security.

Examines reform of the Russian military since the end of the Cold War. This book argues that Putin's policies of bolstering central control has left untouched many key problems, including infighting between different forces, lack of transparency over defence spending, and absence of consensus on the main threats.

Business leaders have a huge influence on society, as their thinking and acting shapes the way the economy is run. This book portrays economic elites in a range of Central and Eastern European countries. It outlines the social origin of elites, their career paths, who exerts the greatest influence over them, which networks are important for them, and how they influence society.

This book compares and contrasts Georgiäs First Republic, which lasted from 1918 until suppressed by Bolshevik Soviet forces in 1921, with the present Georgian Republic, which gained its independence when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

A postcommunist condition has arisen from the fall of the Berlin Wall and later the Soviet Empire: this book looks at how this condition has manifested itself globally in the production of post-communist film. It argues post-communism is a shared experience on a geopolitical level, unlimited by national state borders, and examines postcommunist cross culturalism and global totalitarianism within film.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of Chinese migration to the countries of the former Soviet bloc ¿ Russia, Eastern Europe and countries of Central Asia ¿ exploring how the migration has come about, discussing the motivation of the migrants and examining the significant contribution the migrants are making.

Explores the religion and world outlook of the Telengits of Altai. This book provides an account of the Altai, its peoples, clans and political structures, focusing particularly on the Telengits, whilst also considering the different elements of religious belief exhibited among these native peoples.

The Western field of oriental studies and orientalism - criticised by Edward Said among others for encouraging the orient to be viewed in a particular way - has a counterpart in Russia and the Soviet Union. This book examines this Russian/Soviet intellectual tradition of oriental scholarship covering Islamic history and Muslim literatures of the USSR republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Presents an assessment of the main processes and dilemmas of regional development and regional policy in the European Union member states in Central and Eastern Europe, highlighting the difficulties of balancing the demands for rapid growth and development with the need for restructuring and development to conform to EU common policies.

With a worldwide recession, the problems as well as the opportunities in Russian-European relations are magnified. This book applies a conceptual framework to analyse differences that are as relevant for Europe and the EU as it is to Russia's immediate neighbours and identifies the key factors that can dominate Russia-EU ties.

Provides a multi-faceted picture of the many complex processes that take place in the field of contemporary Russian media and popular culture. This book discusses developments in the media industry and assesses a wide range of social and cultural changes, many of which are related to, and to an extent generated by, the media.

Provides an examination of the phenomenon of skinheads, explaining its nature and its significance, and assessing how far Russian skinhead subculture is the 'lumpen' end of the extreme nationalist ideological spectrum. This book also provides a practical example of how to investigate youth subculture over an extended period.

Analyses Russian-European interaction, including Russia's relations with the Baltic States. This book discusses the development of Russia's approach to the security architecture in Europe resulting from the enlargement of both the EU and NATO, and assesses the prospects for greater Russian engagement in European security frameworks.

Presents the history of Russian peasant women in the 20th century in English. This book offers a comprehensive overview of regulations concerning rural women: their employment patterns; marriages, divorces and family life; and, issues with health and raising children.

This work examines how civil-military relations have been transformed in Russia, Poland, Hungary and Ukraine since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact in 1991. It shows how these countries have worked to reform their obsolete armed forces.

Presents a comprehensive introduction to the Caucasus. This title covers the geography and the historical development of the region, economics, politics and government, population, religion and society, culture and traditions, and conflicts and international relations. It is written in an accessible style and requires no prior knowledge.