Description
Book SynopsisFor 200 years, Russia has had a love-hate relationship with the West. Anxious on the one hand to emulate Western institutions, ideas and lifestyles, while on the other strongly nationalistic and suspicious of Western political and cultural encroachment. All signs show, argues the author, that Russia is leading back towards more comfortable and familiar territory away from the West. With most shades of Russian political opinion now firmly set on a Russia First policy, following the West''s failure to accommodate Russia''s post-Communist economic and diplomatic needs, coupled with the pain associated with Western economic models, he concludes that Russia is developing its own Tsarist solutions with profound effects on domestic and foreign policy.
Trade ReviewRussia First was illuminating and required reading for anyone trading with The Russian Federation. It is difficult for us to grasp the Russian mindset and their ambivalence towards both East and West. Beautifully researched. * Dr Paul Dyer, Hon. History Fellow of Kent University, UK, Member of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, financial markets entrepreneur and philanthropist *
[An] extraordinary read and every time I had to remind myself that it had been written in 1997 … It should be made compulsory reading for any person who is studying PPE, economics, history since it is a brilliantly written account of Russia in one of the key moments for the country. The book is a fantastically well researched political, economic and social study. * Alex Caramella, Director Investor and Business Development, Negentropy Capital Partners *
Table of Contents1. Introduction: Schools of thought 2. "Russia first" and a return to history 3. Russia, relations with the West and the near abroad 4. Russia's economy, the military-industrial complex and the mafia 5. The Duma elections and the triumph of "Russia first" 6. "Russia first" in the 1996 presidential election campaign
