Russia Transformed: Developing Popular Support for a New Regime

Extract

Russia Transformed: Developing Popular Support for a New Regime, Richard Rose, William Mishler and Neil Munro, Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006, pp. xii, 226.

This monograph analyzes major findings of fourteen years of public opinion research in Russia carried out under the New Russia Barometer survey research project, which Rose and colleagues conducted in conjunction with the Levada Centre in Russia. Rose, Mishler and Munro offer a clearly written, focused discussion that puts complex data into perspective. The work's major contribution is its systematic evaluation of the evolution of Russian citizens' political attitudes from 1992 to 2005. As the authors note in their dedication to the volume, their surveys included over 28,000 people across Russia (the methodology is outlined on pp. 70–75). As such, the book's authority in providing an accurate reflection of citizens' views is indisputable. Much to their credit, the authors render their findings readily understandable to readers who are not expert in survey research design or quantitative methods.