'An excellent and important work' Literary Review 'Anyone concerned about how the bear will respond will find this historically informative account an accessible and stimulating guide' Sunday Express 'Putin and the Rise of Russia is a privileged insider's account of the Russian enigma at first hand. It's the best kind of political journalism' Observer When the Soviet Union collapsed, the world was left wondering about its destiny. Russia is still an enormous power with a population exceeding 140 million, immense military resources and giant energy reserves - in short, a vast land full of promise and opportunity. Russia has the potential to be a force of stability or a force of turmoil, but when it comes to global affairs, can she be persuaded to join the world order? Professor Stuermer's authoritative and timely account considers a Russia going through a defining phase after the departure of Vladimir Putin. History is on the move: we face an open and challenging future in which Russia, for better or for worse, will play a key role.

The essays in this volume examine selected national, regional European, and international policies of Charles de Gaulle, giving consideration to their significance in his own time, and today. Not everything de Gaulle did withstands the test of time. Nor, obviously, was everything beyond criticism in his own time. Nonetheless, a main finding, in the words of one essayist, is that de Gaulle had an 'uncanny sense of where history was going' and the skill to position his country accordingly. De Gaulle also stands as a testament to the power of individuals in history, a somewhat unfashionable viewpoint in modern university curriculums. Today, when France's destiny appears increasingly to depend on structures and institutions beyond its national control, including a Europe weakened by the sovereign debt crisis, and a global economic system accountable to no one, it seems timely to reconsider the record of the twentieth century's greatest Frenchman, whose skill at dealing with the problems of his time can inspire today's generation of politicians and statesmen.