The course focuses on contemporary Russian politics as a case of a democracy in transition. Although the course will mostly cover events which have happened since 1985, a great deal of attention will be paid to the "pre-perestroika" time to better understand roots and causes of current political and economic transformation. Russia will be used as an example to cover various political and economic issues, which are in general related to a transition from socialism to capitalism. Among such issues are: What type of political reform is necessary to sustain transition? What kind of
political institutions emerge as a vehicle for the reforms and how do they evolve with time? Do elections matter? The main purpose of this class is to help students learn about various properties of democratic processes in transition. A significant part of class time will be devoted to informal
discussions of various related issues.