ABSTRACT
This book started with the premise that contemporary Russia has ethnic, economic, and social fault lines, and is more divided than during the Soviet period. Russia is not unique in this regard, of course, although not all fault lines are equal in importance, and some societies are more seriously affected than others. Nor are fault lines static; they grow or contract in importance over time, or sometimes disappear altogether due to policy remediation or change in society. Social science theory and historical experience informs us that the divide between rich and poor is one of the most important fault lines in society. Russia has become much more unequal since 1992, but among developed nations it is less unequal than the US, for example. The US is the most unequal in the world, and its government has done less to address growing inequality since 1980 than any other government among developed nations. The US has also experienced an increasing wealth gap, 1 but the likelihood of regime change or the fall of the US government is remote, even with low trust in political institutions and a feeling by most that the country is not on the right track. 2
