ABSTRACT
One of the most enduring themes in Russian studies has been that of Russia's historical continuity. This theme is one that identifies a significantly enduring Russian culture and notes the way in which the patterns of this culture, in terms of behaviour and ways of thinking, keep reasserting themselves. However there is another side to this continuity: it is that Russian history has been a continuous struggle between what is seen as a particularly Russian way of being and the modernising impacts, influences and attractions of the West upon Russia. In many ways this dialogue between Russia and the West has been the defining context in which Russian social and economic change takes place. From the emergence of the Russian state, with the dissolution of the Mongol empire in the 16th century, through to the 21st century, Russia has co-existed and interacted with the (evolving) Western state system and the ideologies and discourses thrown up by this civilisation. From this perspective the transition embarked upon in 1991, towards a market economy and a developed democracy, was yet another chapter in this long procession.
