ABSTRACT
The rise and fall of Communist regimes in the former Russian Empire and in East Central Europe constitute one of the most intriguing social and political phenomena of the twentieth century. The economic and social systems of countries governed by Communist parties had some interesting differences. Successful democracies in the post-Communist states without any exception are the parliamentary regimes, while most of the presidentialist regimes have become authoritarian. The legacy of the Communist rule in the multiethnic societies is not friendly cooperation but mostly intense distrust and even hostility. The Communist seizure of power was motivated by the Utopian design of the establishment of a totally new, socially just, egalitarian society. The departure from the Communist command economy has been a universal trait in East-Central Europe and the former U.S.S.R. Economic and social structures in the post-Communist countries are still in the process of crystallization. Politics is the crucial factor in shaping the direction of social and economic transformation.
