Studies of the collapse of communism in Russia and Eastern Europe so far have been rare in the history of science and technology. The ways in which scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs adapted to and helped shape the brave new post-communist world remain difficult to study on the basis of archival sources, but this does not necessarily make the writing of post-communist history impossible. Thane Gustafson's new book on Russia and its oil from the late 1980s up to the present constitutes an excellent example. Gustafson is a political scientist, but his analysis takes the form of a well-developed historical narrative, empirically based on his own interviews with the main actors, as well as on his personal observations, a variety of media reports, and secondary literature. It is a compelling and authoritative account that no one with an interest in Russian energy can afford to neglect.
展开▼
