ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book analyzes the institutional changes that have occurred thus far, as well as electoral reform. It discusses the impact that glasnost has had on the emerging political process. The book describes changes in the official media and the growth of the independent press. It also analyzes the tenuous and murky relationship between the authorities and the press and speculates on what the consequences of commercialization may be for the "health" of an independent press. The book considers the effects of the institutional and electoral reforms, and of the freeing of the press, on local politics. It argues that the transition in Russia is complicated by the highly centralized nature of the Soviet system. The book concludes that neocorporatism may be a more appropriate model than pluralism for the study of post-Soviet politics.
