This book is about the history and prospects of democracy in Russia. Its author Evgenii Iasin (b. 1934), former Minister of the Economy (1994-1997), was one of the major contributors to the first government program of the transformation of the centrally planned Russian economy into a market one. He is head of the fond "Liberal Mission", which since 2000 has been disseminating liberal values in Russian society. The author pays special attention to the Putin and Medvedev periods of governing and their departure from the course of democracy. This book may be recommended both as a chronicle of and a teaching aid on recent political and economic life of Russia. Summary in English. (0.935 kg.)