Silviu Brucan

Social Change in Russia and Eastern Europe

From Party Hacks to Nouveaux Riches

• Gebundenes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

Brucan, a former Romanian ambassador to the United States and the United Nations, provides the first social history of the remarkable transition from communism to capitalism in Russia and Eastern Europe after the collapse of the Soviet Union. He begins with an examination of the old social structure in communist societies, which used to be cosmetically advertised by the party and officialdom, paying particular attention to the nomenklatura, who have miraculously transformed themselves into big businessmen and bankers. A chapter is devoted to the decline of the working class, whom Brucan shows to be the big loser in the revolution. He then examines the new social stratification, illustrating how the new classes are taking shape under the conditions created by market reform. The symbiosis between capital and power is analyzed in depth, and Ambassador Brucan concludes his study with a look at the direction the social transformations are pushing these societies, particularly the separate paths being followed by Russia and Eastern Europe. This is an important study for researchers, scholars, and policy makers involved with Russia and Eastern Europe.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Praeger
• Seitenzahl: 132
• Erscheinungstermin: 30. September 1998
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 222mm x 145mm x 11mm
• Gewicht: 309g
• ISBN-13: 9780275963224
• ISBN-10: 0275963225
• Artikelnr.: 22098938

Autorenporträt

SILVIU BRUCAN has had a long and distinguished career as an activist, diplomat, and scholar. He participated in the anti-fascist underground during World War II and was a leading dissident of the Ceausescu dictatorship and one of the leaders of the revolution of December 1989. He served as Romania's ambassador to the United States (1956-59) and to the United Nations (1959-62). He is the author of six earlier books in English, including The Wasted Generation and Pluralism and Social Conflict (Praeger, 1990).

Inhaltsangabe

Introduction Social Structure in Communist States Nomenklatura: Class or
Social Group? Subordinated Classes Leasership and Apparat Decline of the
Working Class In Capitalism In Socialism Communist Reaction to New
Technologies The Odyssey of the Manual Worker Where the Market Squeezed In
The Political Verdict of Social Differentiation The New Social Structure
after 1989 1990 and 1991: Petrification of the Old Structure in Romania The
First Social Earthquake The Dislocation Process Introduction to the Middle
Class The Middle Class: Key Factor in Market Reform Russia without a Middle
Class A "Wild Middle Class" in Romania Millionaires in Five Years! How Did
They Do It? The Symbiosis Power-Capital The Social Condition of Integration
in NATO and European Community Epilogue: Whither Russia and Eastern Europe?
Notes