Power, Culture, and Economic Change in Russia is an attempt to rediscover the post-Soviet transition that Russia has been undergoing over the last quarter-century. The meaning of this rediscovery is in its attempt to dig deeper into the nature of transformation in order to understand the underlying causes, incentives, and moving forces behind this complex process. In the introduction, Jeffrey Hass presents an excellent literature review, outlining the major conceptual approaches applied to Russia's market transition. He calls for us to “look beyond macro-level indicators or ‘institutions' and explore dimensions of power, culture, and practices, and how these are intertwined” (p. 2). Clearly, Hass goes against economic orthodoxy. Nor does he rely exclusively on institutionalism, including new economic institutionalism. Instead, the author uses such concepts as power and culture in order to comment on differences and similarities between modern Russia and its Soviet parent, and, not less importantly, why such differences and similarities exist and persist through the transition. Hass suggests rejecting simplistic behavioral assumptions, while properly situating economic orthodoxies in a broader social theory.

A different, broader, approach, not limited to economic postulates, is intended to address issues previously addressed in the literature, but under different perspectives. For instance, in order to investigate post-Soviet logics of normality, rationality, and practice, as well as their change, Hass uses “a narrative of the duality of marketing: marketing as a logic of interpretation and practice, and marketing as transition culture myth and practice to signal legitimacy and normality” (p. 128). He suggests that old Soviet plant managers did not do well in converting their enterprises into firms led by elaborate marketing strategies, resorting instead to continuous production for its own sake. Instead of learning how to sell, Red Directors followed the Soviet logic of the plan and the need to produce higher volumes of goods. Entrepreneurial practices and profit maximization as an ultimate goal were hard to inject into the Soviet-type production culture.

Hass follows both major trends and phenomena of the market transition and numerous cases of particular small firms and large companies. Stories of former socialist enterprises, which were used to operating in the planned economy, are then placed in the frame of new business environment and culture. This kind of framing helps highlighting the essence of major problems that they have been facing through the transition period and highlighting major cultural changes. Hass advocates such an approach, insisting that, “Power-culture's dimensions, habitus, practice and logics, and normality should be at the heart of new thinking” (p. 217).

Hass blends political economy and sociology in search for reasons why there is order in the chaotic reality of post-Soviet transformation. He refers to meaning and knowledge as culture and implementation as power in his exploration of the underlying causes. “We have made our story more complicated than corrupt state officials, capital hunger or oil wealth, or problematic laws; we must ask why officials are “corrupt,” how capital and value are embodied and used, and why laws and implementation are problematic in the first place” (p. 12). The endemic corruption, bureaucratic red tape, and high concentration of production assets in the hands of just a few oligarchs did not prevent Russia from constructing a consumerist society with its numerous newly emerged customer oriented firms and stores. In this sense, Russia is, no doubt, on its way to the market. At the same time, its progress toward democratization remains questionable.

The market transition and failed democratization in Russia has been described before. Such works are indeed plentiful. The task that Hass has set for himself in this volume is not how it was, but why it happened the way it did. Whether he succeeded in this adventure, the reader is to judge. The book would be an excellent read for those who look for a conceptually strong and thoughtful analysis of the post-Soviet transformation. It will also help students and scholars in Russian and area studies to step away from political science and economics orthodoxies and broaden their scope of analysis with the lenses and insights offered by Hass.