Russia (Polity Histories)

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I'm always interested in trying to understand the perspectives of countries that are different than the United States. We live in a world where the same event can be seen in so many different ways, depending on our experiences and world view. Dmitri Trenin gives a direct and succinct view of how Russia operates in geopolitics. If you are looking for a quick read that will help you understand Russia you should enjoy this book.

Dimitri Trenin has produced a small, but well written book that has well-argued theses. Twice, in 1917 and 1991 Russian governments rapidly collapsed in a few days when people lost confidence in the state. Each political collapse led to a ‘time of troubles’ as the state re-asserted itself. 1917 led to a totalitarian communist regime with huge accomplishments in foreign policy and domestic development, but at a horrendous human price. 1991 resulted in an authoritarian consumerist state that was corrupt and unjust, but with increased personal freedom.The Russian psyche has deep seated fears of foreign invasion and internal turmoil. This has acclimated the people to accept authoritarianism; whether an Orthodox monarchy, Soviet communism, or crony capitalism. Russians accept a need for ‘unity of power’, but have issues on how it is exercised. Today, the economic and social elites are above, and control the state.The economic sanctions imposed on Russia fail, because to the Russians economics is secondary; in fact, this leads to greater internal solidarity. To quote the author from page 180: “What keeps Russian people together is a particular form of spiritual bonds whose main ingredients are a long historical tradition, even uniqueness; and a certain mission in the world as an independent global actor.”Putin like Lenin and Stalin has tried to groom a new generation of leaders to follow him. Will he be more successful? There is no consensus as to how he will continue to rule when semi-retired. It is unlikely for Russia to ever accept liberal capitalism or to politically capitulate to the west.by accepting a secondary role.Russia aims at a Federation 2.0 in this century, and perhaps a “Grand Eurasian Equilibrium with Berlin, Beijing and Delhi becoming Moscow’s principal foreign partners”. Outside the United States, the ideas of Mackinder are still alive.The volume has an excellent bibliography and notes for further reading.

I’m a fast reader. Yet it took me a month to get through this little volume. That’s not a complaint, it’s just that the book is so dense with fact and analysis that I had to go slowly.Dmitri Trenin is a Russian-born scholar who divides his time between his homeland and the United States. He is the director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, a think-tank devoted to Russian-American relations. He is a well published and respected figure in his discipline. His prowess in the field shows in this extraordinary book, especially considering the fact that it is short (185 pp.) and covers a century of Russian history and politics. Between a helpful introduction and a summary conclusion there are six chapters devoted to the primary events figures and events of the twentieth century in Russia: the revolution, Lenin, World War II, Stalin, the velvet revolution, and Putin. He begins with an apothegm: “They say that in Russia everything changes in 20 years and nothing in 200.” Russia’s exceptionalism, that is her awkward and often contradictory views of the West, are the heart of her history. Plus ca change. Lenin, Stalin, Brezhnev, and the like are strongmen that the Russian people seem to need. Democracy simply isn’t in the cards for Russia. In many ways, it’s still under the rule of a tsar.Readers, of course, will be most interested in how Trenin handles the difficult figure of Vladimir Putin, in essence the newest tsar. The book does not discuss the strange relationship between Putin and American president Trump. He does remark, however, that a political crisis following the departure of Putin is inevitable.This is an insightful and important book. It is not a good first book on Russia, but a very good second or third one. (Maybe first try Montefiore’s The Romanovs and Figes’s A People’s Tragedy for needed background.) My copy has almost as many underlinings as there are sentences. It is dense and deserves to be read slowly, carefully, and thoughtfully. Heartily recommended.

Dimitri Trenin offers a terse overview of Russian history from the Revolution of 1917 to Putin in this book. He sets out to examine Russia from a Russian perspective, seeking to explain the trends that stretch through the century. Central to this are several themes including a harsh authoritarianism, a commitment to country, an ambivalent relationship to other countries, and a secular/religious identity. This is a book for someone just starting to study Russia, scholars will probably know most of this narrative. But it is very good as a starting point. My only quibble is, with a study focused ion the internal aspects of Russian history, the negative impact of Russian communism on the USSR empire is neglected. Also not enough emphasis is placed on the outside pressures that caused the USSR to fracture and collapse, it was not all internal. Nevertheless, this is a good place to begin an exploration of Russian history.

Trenins book is well-written, well-balanced - actually well a lot of things. He has a clear head and brain, but also a living and beating Russian hearth. He knows his Russian history, he knows the Russian people, Russia is not only an academic subject to him. He cares for the country. These simple facts make his quite small book of less than 200 pages much better than the ones of many ideology driven Western authors, pundits and scholars.

Succinct, clear and wonderfully matter of fact. A fabulous recap or introduction to Russia from 1900 - present day. Highly recommend.

A good brief overview of the Russian history.

Un libro fantastico scritto da un ex-General Russo del Collegio della NATO a Roma, ed ora il Direttore della Carnegie Foundation a Mosca. Fa un analisi brillante sulla Russia nei ultimi 500 anni, sino al presente con Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.

Todo muy bien, muchas gracias.