Kapitalizm: Russia's Struggle to Free Its Economy [Paperback]

Ms. Rose Brady (Author), Rose Brady (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2000

An account of Russia's transition period from a socialist state to a market economy. Brady interviewed major political and economic figures, and takes readers into the factories, stores, banks, homes and schools of Russia, to explain how the country's own brand of capitalism has evolved.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Although there's some truth to the popular conception of the former Soviet Union's embrace of free-market capitalism as chaotic and corrupt, it must also be admitted that the reformists have done quite a remarkable thing, with nearly three-quarters of Russia's economic production now based in private enterprise. Rose Brady, who used to report from Moscow for Business Week, goes over the transformation step by step, focusing on the financial planners who made it happen and the corporate magnates who--in some cases through government-approved insider trading--benefited from the process. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Brady's vibrant account of the first six years of Russia's post-Communist economic reform explains how a once closed economy became so precariously dependent on the global markets. As Business Week's Moscow bureau chief from 1989 to 1993, Brady collected interviews from government officials Yegor Gaidar, Anatoly Chubais and Boris Nemtsov. She leaves chronology and statistics for the appendixes (which include charts listing wages, inflation, poverty level, household income) and allows anecdotes, photos and quotes to paint a picture of the socioeconomic metamorphosis of the country. Bankers and tycoons such as Oleg Boiko, Vladimir Gusinsky and Boris Berezovsky, the so-called oligarchs who have asserted their power since Yeltsin's reelection (for which they were arguably responsible), figure prominently, and Brady delicately probes the role of Western financial advisers and their reincarnation into overly bullish investors. Pensioners and the poor, too, speak out: one widowed pensioner laments, "We were just beginning to live when it was Brezhnev's time." The book ends in early 1997, when Russia's future still looked relatively rosy?before the August 1998 financial crisis catapulted the country back into economic chaos. But Brady addresses these recent changes in a postscript. For the most part, she believes that Russia has no choice but to stumble on toward economic liberalization. However, in speculating about Russia's future, Brady offers the cautious "Pozhivyom uvidem. We will live and see."
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (April 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300082622
• ISBN-13: 978-0300082623
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #340,680 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Students rate this high!, May 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Kapitalizm: Russia's Struggle to Free Its Economy (Hardcover)

I teach a survey course on Russia to graduate-level business students. I have used a variety of texts on Russia's economic transformation, always seeking one with the ideal combination of currency, readability, and insights and perspectives attuned to the businessperson rather than the typical academic. Brady's book is it. Brady's experience with BusinessWeek and her illustrative interviews with Russian citizens resonate particularly strongly with my students, who run the gamut from straight-from-undergrad-school/can't-find-Russia-on-a-map, to individuals who have done business in Russia (successfully or un- ) and want to know more about a unique (and uniquely frustrating) environment for operations and investment. I plan to continue requiring this text for my students and hope Brady provides updated editions as needed.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In-depth analysis of Russia's economic transition, May 4, 2000

By 

Alexandre Kokcharov - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kapitalizm: Russia's Struggle to Free Its Economy (Hardcover)

This is an fabulous book on how Russia turned from state socialism into a fragile, but market-based economy. Being a Business Week correspondent in Moscow the author could witness all stages of Russia's economic transformation -- starting from supply shortages and chaos of late 1991 to the formation of financial & industrial comglomerates in 1997. This book is an exciting reading because it is easy written and combines stories on both complicated economic issues and on lives of ordinary Russians, struggling to adapt to the changes.

4.0 out of 5 stars helpful summary of 1990's Russia, December 4, 2011

By 

John W. Christmas - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Kapitalizm: Russia's Struggle to Free Its Economy (Paperback)

Rose Brady had put together an informative book about what was going on in Russia in the 1990's. Her book goes deeper than the headline news by quoting many Russians ranging from pensioners to oligarchs and by giving specific examples that are illustrative of the larger trends. The writing style is smooth and enjoyable.

The main featured oligarchs are Chubais, Gusinsky, Berezovsky, Chernomyrdin, Khodorkovsky, Luzhkov, Potanin, and Alikperov.

My single criticism is to say that the term "capitalism" should not be applied to what happened in Russia. Capitalism is a system where property rights are protected and therefore people can only get money by earning it. In Russia, the super-rich got their wealth by taking it from the government. Therefore, property rights are not protected and the system is not capitalist.

John Christmas, author of "Democracy Society"