Ten Years After the Soviet Breakup: A Mixed Record, An Uncertain Future

Issue Date October 2001
Volume 12
Issue 4
Page Numbers 87-94
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Read the full essay here.

Despite huge changes, the events of the last ten years raise doubts about the notion of “democratic transition” itself.

About the Author

Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, is professor of political science at Stanford University, director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. His most recent book is From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin’s Russia (2018).

View all work by Michael McFaul

Further Reading

Volume 20, Issue 2

Reading Russia: The Siloviki in Charge

Since Vladimir Putin’s rise to power at the end of the 1990s, siloviki—the people who work for, or used to work for, Russia’s “ministries of force” have spread to posts…

Volume 20, Issue 3

China Since Tiananmen: The Massacre’s Long Shadow

In the two decades since the Tiananmen massacre, China has enjoyed rapid economic growth and a measure of political stability. Recently, however, various forms of popular protest have been increasing.…

Volume 12, Issue 4

Ten Years After the Soviet Breakup: Putin’s Path

Although his methods are hardly democratic, Putin’s efforts to strengthen the Russian state may help democracy in the long term.