Russia And Eastern Europe After Communism: The Search For New Political, Economic, And Security Systems

The conference on "Russia and East Europe in Transition," held at Middlebury College in May 1994 under the auspices of the Center for Russian and East European Studies, provided the impetus for this volume. The two-day gathering was made possible by a Title VI grant from the U.S. Department of Education and the Jessica Swift Endowed Lecture Fund of Middlebury College, for which we are most grateful. Apart from the contributors to this volume, the conference participants included: George Bellerose, Raymond E. Benson, Valery Chalidze, Michael Claudon, David Colander, Guntram H. Herb, Lars Lib, Tamar Mayer, Noah M.J. Pickus, Sunder Ramaswamy, David A. Rosenberg, and Mitchell Smith. Acting as discussants, panel chairs, or interested participants, their efforts, individually and collectively, have made this a better book and their contribution to this project is gratefully acknowledged.

About the Author

Michael Kraus is Professor of Political Science and Russian and East European Studies at Middlebury College. A native of Prague, he received his Ph.D. in politics from Princeton University. Dr. Kraus is co-editor of Perestroika and East-West Economic Relations: Prospects for the 1990s , and the author of articles on Soviet, Russian, and Eastern European politics. He has received grants from the National Council for Soviet and East European Research, the Ford Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the International Research and Exchanges Board. In addition, he has been a resident scholar at Harvard, Columbia, and George Washington Universities. Currently, he is conducting research on the politics of the Czech-Slovak split. Ronald D. Liebowitz is Vice President of Middlebury College and Professor of Geography and Russian and East European Studies. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University. Dr. Liebowitz is editor of Gorbachev’s "New Thinking": Prospects for Joint Economic Ventures and co-editor of Perestroika and East-West Economic Relations: Prospects for the 1990s . He is also the author of articles on Soviet regional investment and topics in political geography. Dr. Liebowitz has received support for his research from the National Council for Soviet and East European Research, the Kennan Institute, and the International Research and Exchanges Board. His current research focuses on center-periphery relations in Russia and the Soviet successor states.