The development of Russian democracy has been a gradual process of maturation punctuated by dramatic events. This text examines events such as the first free elections, the Russian parliament's resistance to the 1991 coup, and the bloody confrontation with the military in 1993.

The development of Russian democracy has been a gradual process of maturation punctuated by dramatic events. This text examines events such as the first free elections, the Russian parliament's resistance to the 1991 coup, and the bloody confrontation with the military in 1993.

An analysis of local legislative and budgetary politics during the late Soviet and post-Soviet period with case studies of electoral behaviour, distribution processes, political contestation, and institutional development.

An analysis of local legislative and budgetary politics during the late Soviet and post-Soviet period with case studies of electoral behaviour, distribution processes, political contestation, and institutional development.

Jeffrey Hahn examines the degree to which citizens who are elected to local government in the USSR can successfully represent the interests of those who elected them. More specifically, how effectively do the mechanisms available for citizen participation in local government work in practice? What can elected deputies do to respond to the expressed needs and preferences of their constituents? Basing his conclusions on interviews with local deputies, observations of local soviets at work, and the analysis of a wide range of primary source material, the author finds that Soviet citizens do have some chances to participate meaningfully in local government and that a basis exists for the continued expansion of such participation. The elected deputy can and occasionally does play an active role as an ombudsman for those who choose to use opportunities for citizen input. Soviet Grassroots not only contributes to our empirical knowledge of political participation in the USSR but also provides a basis for speculation about the nature of political change in the Soviet system. If opportunities for effective participation in local government do exist, and they can be shown to have grown over time, then one precondition for the emergence of a "civic culture" in Soviet society already exists. Originally published in 1988. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Jeffrey Hahn examines the degree to which citizens who are elected to local government in the USSR can successfully represent the interests of those who elected them. More specifically, how effectively do the mechanisms available for citizen participation in local government work in practice? What can elected deputies do to respond to the expressed needs and preferences of their constituents? Basing his conclusions on interviews with local deputies, observations of local soviets at work, and the analysis of a wide range of primary source material, the author finds that Soviet citizens do have some chances to participate meaningfully in local government and that a basis exists for the continued expansion of such participation. The elected deputy can and occasionally does play an active role as an ombudsman for those who choose to use opportunities for citizen input. Soviet Grassroots not only contributes to our empirical knowledge of political participation in the USSR but also provides a basis for speculation about the nature of political change in the Soviet system. If opportunities for effective participation in local government do exist, and they can be shown to have grown over time, then one precondition for the emergence of a "civic culture" in Soviet society already exists. Originally published in 1988. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

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.