Foreword by D.Dondureia
Moscow, Europe Publishing House, 2005, pp 264
Negative connotations of the word «regime» have been entwined in the fabric of the Russian language since the Stalin’s epoch. Regimes always used to be found behind the Iron curtain, and they were invariably autocratic: Franco, Salazar, Chiang Kai-Shek, Pinochet, etc. It is only the professional language of technicians that has preserved its original meaning in expressions like «the engine’s operational regime is normal».
This book deals with the President’s dream to normalize the functioning of the State machine and the multitude of barriers that stand in the way of achieving this goal. Some barriers are old, while others have been brought about by such partly foreseeable yet unexpected circumstances as Beslan or the Khodorkovsky case. In order to grasp the scope of this tremendous task, one has to add to this list such constant factors as bureaucratic inefficiency, the attitude of political parties and movements, business and, finally, every Russian person who is yet to become a fully responsible citizen.
