Russia As It Is: Transformation of a Lose/Lose Society

A civilised market economy, which Russia is professedly building, calls for competition without conflict, freedom without indiscipline, ambition without envy and co-operation without coercion. These requirements clash head-on with some of Russia's most ingrained cultural and anthropological traits. Matthew Maly's scholarly elaboration of the dilemma is replete with parables, poetry and aphorisms, reminiscent at times of Thorstein Veblen's sociology of American capitalism. One could almost entitle his book, Theory of the Thieving Class.

- Peter Oppenheimer
Oxford University

Russia As It Is: Transformation of a Lose/Lose Society is an iconoclastic, provocative, politically incorrect, and probing analysis of why Russia doesn't work - and never has worked - as well as it should. Those who will influence Russia's future would do well to read it with care. The same is true for non-Russians who deal with the country, and for those who wish it well.

- Lawrence E. Harrison
The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University,
co-editor of "Culture Matters"

As a former professor of economics and business owner and operator active in Russia and other states of the former Soviet Union for the last 10 years, I can highly recommend this book for policy makers, international aid agencies and businesspersons.

The fundamental thesis of the book is that Russia (and other Slavic countries of the former Soviet Union, such as Ukraine and Belarus) have developed social, economic and governmental structures that are implicitly based on a psychology of lose/lose as contrasted to the general western psychology of win/win. The zero sum game is perceived as reality in Russia owing to its long history of internal deprivation and external threat. How this developed historically is one subject of the book. Because Russian institutions of law, government and society are derived from this historic-psychological base, an understanding of Russian behavior in its many manifestations requires a firm understanding of how and why this psychology has developed, especially during the Soviet period.

The basic error of western policy makers has been to ignore this important psychological difference with the result that westerners are continually surprised or dismayed by Russian behavior that appears to run contrary to what they assume to be optimal or at least predictable decision-making based on the implicit psychology of win/win. Russia is the proverbial square peg that the western world is trying to force into a round hole. It would better for those involved with Russia to read this book so that at least surprise and dismay can be replaced with understanding and anticipation.

- Paul R. Thomas
President, IRE (USA) Inc.
Partner, IRE (Ukraine) LLC

The advantage of Matthew Maly's book is that it manages to combine reality with theory. You get a general introduction to the basic concepts of liberalism and communism together with a lot of funny examples of how these concepts work or do not work in Russia' s everyday life. This gives you a sense of the enormous difference in the perception of the world that separates East and West; a difference that cannot be explained, as we like to do it in the West, by different stages of development of our respective civilizations. In other words, Maly's book shows that is it just not a matter of us being ahead, and them lacking behind, so that it will only be a matter of time before they catch up on democracy and market economy; no, in many ways, the Russians perceive the world differently than the peoples of western Europe. That is why Maly's examples from everyday life in Russia are as true today as they were in Soviet times and in tsarist Russia. I would have liked to have read Maly's book as a student of political science; then I would have understood these things on a much earlier stage. I had to live in Russia several years before I grasped the difference; and nevertheless Maly's book was an eye-opener for me. It may not be the final truth about Russia; but it is surely a step in that direction, and that is more than can be said about most other books on the subject of Russia. I enthusiastically recommend Maly's book to everyone who wants to understand Russia -- be they scientists, students, politicians, expats living in Russia, or just curious people.

- Anna Libak
Moscow Correspondent of Berlingske Tidende, Denmark

Matthew Maly brings a uniquely informed and enlightening perspective to the continuing mystery of Russia. Russia As It Is provides a much needed insight into today's Russia.

- David Johnson
Editor, Johnson's Russia List

Matthew Maly's third book promises to shed more light on why Russians seems so baffling to us, and perhaps to themselves. A culture based on envy has inherent problems with economic development. I particularly appreciated his explanation of why they don't fix small things that would improve their lives: they are waiting to do something perfect, and can't waste their time doing anything halfway. Whether the reader agrees or not with Maly's provocative analysis, the book presents a stimulating array of ideas.

- Susan McIntosh, MBA
charity president