Abstract: Post-communist transformation of Russia is a popular topic of research in political science/international relations. This book conceives ‘transformation’ as the creation of a fundamental discontinuity in the institutions of a society. Whereas an election can change the people and party in control of government while leaving its institutions intact, transformation changes the very structure of government. Hence, transformation differs from political reform: it is not an alteration of institutions to make the political system work better; it is a disruption of institutions that replace one political system with another. Transformation is an abnormal condition of society, because it involves fundamental changes in its central institutions...
