Presenting a collection of interviews with distinguished Russian and Western policymakers and analysts on Russian reforms, from Yeltsin to Putin, this work appeals to researchers and students in developmental economics, political economy, and Soviet studies, and educated laypeople interested in Russia.

As one of the first Western ethnographers working in Moscow, Nancy Ries became convinced that talk is one crucial way in which Russian identity is constructed and reproduced. Listening to the grim stories people used to characterize their lives during perestroika, and encountering the florid pessimism with which Muscovites described the unraveling of Soviet governance, Ries realized that these dire tales played a crucial role in fabricating a sense of shared experience and destiny. While many of the narratives aptly depicted the chaotic social and political events, they also promoted key images of "Russianness" and presented Russian society as an inescapable realm of injustice, absurdity, and suffering. At the height of perestroika in the early 1990s, Moscow residents commonly used the phrase "complete ruin" to refer to the disintegration of Russian society, encompassing in that phrase the escalation of crime, the disappearance of goods from stores, the fall of production, ecological catastrophes, ethnic violence in the Caucasus, the degradation of the arts, and the flood of pornography. Ries argues that such stories became a genre of folklore consistent in their lamenting, portentous tone and their dramatic, culturally poignant details.

When face-to-face with a real Russian speaker, do you freeze? Do you know how to ask for directions in Russian or communicate if there's an emergency? If your answer to any of the previous questions was 'Yes', then this book is for you! If there's anything more challenging than learning the grammar rules of a new language, it's knowing what to say and having the courage to speak with confidence. We know how you feel - You always try to avoid making embarrassing mistakes or not getting your message through correctly, but it will happen anyway. 'How do I get out of this situation?', You may ask yourself, but have yet to find a straight-forward answer. Until now. We have compiled 50 Russian Stories along with their translations, providing new Russian speakers with the necessary tools to begin effectively studying how to set a meeting, how to check into a hotel and even what to say during an emergency! Our Russian dialogues get straight to the point saving you precious time. There's no benefit learning words and phrases you will never actually use! If you want to learn Russian quickly and have a ton of fun along the way, obviously, this book is for you! How Conversational Russian Dialogues works: • Each new chapter will have a fresh, new story between two or more people who wish to solve a common, day-to-day problem that you will most likely experience in real life. • A Russian version of the conversation will take place first, followed by an English translation. This ensures that you fully understood just what it was that they were saying! • Before and after the main section of the book, we shall provide you with an introduction and conclusion that will offer you important strategies, tips and tricks to allow you to get the absolute most out of this learning material. • That's about it! Simple, useful and incredibly helpful; you will NOT need another conversational Russian book once you have started reading and studying this one! Focus on getting from zero to conversationally fluent, so you can: -Travel or live in Russia or any Russian speaking country without relying on Google Translate -Join Russian conversations with your Russian speaking coworkers, friends, or family members -Date Russian-speakers without embarrassing yourself -Stop getting passed over for jobs or promotions for less-qualified people who are bilingual We want you to feel confident while learning Russian; after all, there should never be a language barrier stopping you from traveling around the world and expanding your social circles! So look no further! Grab your copy of Conversational Russian Dialogues and start learning Russian right now!

In 'Conversation In Exile, ' John Glad brings together interviews with fourteen prominent Russian writers in exile, all of whom currently live in the United States, France, or Germany. Conducted between 1978 and 1989, these frank and captivating interviews provide a rich and complex portrait of a national literature in exile.