ABSTRACT
After a brief period of simultaneous political and economic liberalization a great divide has emerged in the former Soviet bloc since 1989. Some countries have consolidated democracy while other states have returned to various non-democratic regimes. Countries that have moved to democracy have also moved to capitalism, while non-democratic regimes have co-existed with various economic systems. These patterns in the post-socialist world confirm the earlier observations that democracy can be lastingly combined only with capitalism, while capitalism (of different kinds) can co-exist both with democracy and a variety of authoritarian regimes.
