How Russia Became a Market Economy

Book excerpt: This book provides the most detailed and insightful assessment to date of the Russian transformation from a socialist economy to a market economy. As a longtime specialist on the Soviet economy and an economic adviser to the Russian government during most of this period, Aslund analyzes the original intentions of the government, what they were to accomplish, and why they fell short. According to Aslund, the Russian transformation has not been too quick, as many maintain, but rather too slow.