It is not so easy to take the long view of socioeconomic history when you are participating in a revolution. For that reason, Russian economist Yegor Gaidar put aside an early version of this work to take up a series of government positions--as Minister of Finance and as Boris Yeltsin¿s acting Prime Minister--in the early 1990s. In government, Gaidar shepherded Russia through its transition to a market economy after years of socialism. Once out of government, Gaidar turned again to his consideration of Russia¿s economic history and long-term economic and political challenges. This book, revised and updated shortly before his death in 2009, is the result.

In this monumental work, Yegor Gaidar, the leading Russian economist of his generation, shows how Russia's economic and political development in the twentieth Century fit into the sweep of global history. Informed by a lifetime of scholarship and practical experience, Russia: A Long View is a tour de force that will enliven debates about Russia's place in the world for years to come. -- Daniel Treisman, professor of Political Science, University of California, Los Angeles; author of The Return: Russia's Journey from Gorbachev to Medvedev In the mid-1990s, Yegor Gaidar was asked what Russia will look like in twenty years. He said, with amazing prescience, that he was certain it will be a market economy, but far less certain that it will be a democracy. Like the prediction, this book reflects Gaidar's deep and distinctive perspective on long-term economic development, Russia's transition, and Russia's future. -- Andrei Shleifer, Professor of Economics, Harvard University Yegor Gaidar was Russia's 'national treasure.' A reformer of exceptional caliber and daring policy initiatives, he was also a scholar of profound erudition. His luminous writings in this volume show his acute insights into the economics and politics of recent Russian history. They also underline the tragedy of his premature death, which has deprived Russia of his manifold talents at a critical juncture in its troubled transition. -- Padma Desai, Gladys and Roland Harriman Professor of Comparative Economic Systems, Columbia University