Property rights in context: Privatization’s legacy for corporate legality in Poland and Russia

In the first decade after the collapse of Communism, Russia became notorious for conflicts around corporate property and corporate governance. In Poland, such conflicts were far less frequent. This distinction I argue, reflects the form of privatization in each country. In Poland, negotiation among potential shareholders and current enterprise stakeholders preceded privatization, whereas in Russia privatization procedures pitted these same groups against one another. The legacy of privatization in Russia expressed itself in long-running legal conflicts over the security of property rights. These developments highlight the importance of situational incentives to challenge or respect property rights, undermining various new-institutionalist arguments that link security of property rights primarily to the commitment and capacity of state bodies to enforce them, to the normative legitimacy of the law, or to coordination equilibria in a game-theoretic framework. The argument also enables a clarification of the political trajectory now leading to stronger corporate property rights in Russia. David M. Woodruff is associate professor of political science at MIT. His main interest is the politics of economic state-building in the post-socialist countries, especially Russia. His present research focuses on how Russia’s insertion in the international economy affects its ability to build legal institutions appropriate for a market economy. Professor Woodruff is the author ofMoney Unmade: Barter and the Fate of Russian Capitalism (Cornell University Press 1999) and articles inPolitics & Society, Post-Soviet Affairs, andEast European Constitutional Review.     

具有重要意义的中俄"国家年"活动

2006年是中国的“俄罗斯年”,2007年将是俄罗斯的“中国年”。中俄两国元首共同决定连续两年互办“国家年”活动,是两国关系发展史上的一项创举。这项活动充分体现了两国合作健康、快速发展的主旋律,一方面展示了两国的发展成就,同时也将两国的合作推上新的台阶。应胡锦涛主席邀请,普京总统于2006年3月21日至22日对中国进行了国事访问。两国元首在北京举行正式会谈,并共     

Russia and the Caucasus

Russia began moving toward the Caucasus at the end of the 16th Century. In the early 19th Century, the Tsars consolidated control over Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, but had to fight a 35‐year war against the North Caucasian mountaineers to secure control of the entire area The three Transcaucasian republics declared their independence before the collapse of the Soviet Union, but have been hard pressed to consolidate it because of Russian interference. In the North Caucasus, the Chechens declared their independence as well. Erratic Russian policies and freebooting by elements of the Russian military have resulted in disruptive intervention in all three of the Transcaucasian countries. In December 1994, Russia launched a military offensive to subdue the Chechens. The Chechens have fought back furiously, and Russia's war against them has become a domestic Afghanistan. Russia has yet to define its national interests in the Caucasus and adopt coherent policies toward the region. Until it does the area will continue to be unstable.     

转型期的俄罗斯外交战略

冷战后的俄罗斯社会处于改革和转型过程中,其对外战略也经历了一个转变过程:由最初的全面倒向西方,逐步演变为全方位、多极化和实用主义的外交取向,最终目标是恢复俄罗斯的大国地位.与西方的关系由热变冷,逐步拉开距离;与东方的关系则由冷变热,逐步修复传统友好关系.普京上台后,俄罗斯的外交战略更加清晰,实用主义色彩更加浓厚,基本确定了未来俄罗斯外交的总体走向.     

Mother Russia and the crisis of the Russian national family: The puzzle of gender in revolutionary Russia*

Once upon a time there lived a rich widow, with a beautiful face and vigorous body, not old and not young, by the name of Mother Russia. She had been married twice, the first time to the peasant‐bogatyr Mikula Selianinovich, and the second to the no less renowned v/arnoT‐bogatyr Il'ia Muromets.

Her husbands had left her countless riches. And God had blessed both her marriages with many children. For the most part, her children were hard‐working people and valiant warriors. They worked their father's land and protected it from hostile neighbors.

But, as always happens, the family was not without its black sheep. Mother Russia also had some children who were good‐for‐nothings, idlers, drunkards, and empty‐headed chatterboxes. And it was not surprising that these good‐for‐nothings grabbed power over all the widow's other children.

As the loving mother began to grieve and take ill from their indecent debauchery, they assumed control over her and all her possessions. And they began to squander and drink up her wealth, and to send all sorts of healers to try and cure their sick mother.¹     

俄罗斯的精英政治

当代俄罗斯的政体是新权威主义下的宪政民主体制。它的特点是在俄罗斯的政治实践中逐步形成了一种保持宪政民主政体形式并实行总统统一领导的权力体制和管理方式。但＂梅普组合＂的出现不得不让人们重新深入审视和分析俄罗斯的这种政治体制。这是一种以个人威望为基础的总统集中管理模式,又恰恰是政局稳定和国家安定的关键。当今的俄罗斯政治仍然是精英政治。