In Russia in the Context of Global Transformations (Capitalism and Communism, Culture and Revolution), the authors focus on the dramatic changes in Russia’s socio-economic system over the past hundred years. The contradictions of Russia’s triumphs and tragedies are studied in connection with the shifts in the world economic system. Basing themselves on the views of the Post-Soviet School of Critical Marxism, the authors show the causes and consequences of the main shifts in Russia’s development during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Topics addressed include the October Revolution, the contradictions of post-revolutionary development, the disintegration of the USSR, the collapse and stagnation during the post-USSR period and the prospects for overcoming contemporary problems.

How would Marx have understood twenty-first-century capitalism? For Buzgalin and Kolganov, the answer lies in a theoretical investigation of how and why the fundamental elements of capitalism- commodities, money and capital - have changed since the publication of Marx's Capital more than 150 years ago. Introducing the concepts of social creativity, markets for simulacra and virtual fictitious capital - Buzgalin and Kolganov offer a recovery and development of Marx's understanding of social transformations. Twenty-first century capitalism not only demonstrates Marxism's relevance to the core economic questions of our time and its superiority over neoclassical economics, but it leads English-language readers into the 'undiscovered country' of Soviet and post-Soviet critical Marxism. How might modern Marxism respond to the contemporary challenges of the commodification of knowledge and information? And can it arrive at something resembling a Capital for the twenty-first century? This accessible and comprehensive account is essential reading for those wanting to understand the problems of the modern economy. -- .