Regional Russia in Transition

While the West tends to focus on Russia's national institutions and practices when assessing the transition to democracy, Russia's sub-national democratization will largely shape Russians' views of their new government, willingness to participate in it, and trust in its ability to deliver. Regional and local government not only are nearer to ordinary citizens but have, under Russia's federated constitution, highly important economic and social functions. Regional Russia in Transition: Studies from Yaroslavl' examines democracy in a central region of Russia, a largely industrialized heartland off the beaten path from Moscow and Leningrad. Yaroslavl' has been the subject of a series of studies since 1990 by a group of senior U.S. Russianists, several of them contributors to this book. Regional Russia in Transition also includes important work by a Russian historian and a social scientist and an American businessman.