Russia has undergone immense changes in the 20th century. From tsarism to communism, from communism to the market economy. But to what extent does this market economy reproduce the capitalism that characterised Russia in the centuries before 1917? What are the prospects for a democratic, prosperous Russia? This volume examines the large problems of Russia's past. The linking theme is the balance of continuity and discontinuity in the history of the country across several centuries. The chapters cover a wide range of topics: politics, administration, economy, sociology and culture. They also consider the latest historical discussions in Russia and abroad. The work aims to put Russia into a fresh historical perspective and enable the reader to consider the weight of the past lying on attempts to fashion a different Russian future.