Abstract

Grabitization (Don't Look)

The article presents information on two books. "The Oligarchs: Wealth and Power in the New Russia," by David Hoffman and "Building Capitalism: The Transformation of the Former Soviet Bloc," by Anders Aslund. Both the books discusses Russia's transformation from communism to capitalism. Hoffman's is an exhaustive book, impressive in scope, that contains extensive interviews with all of the key figures in Russia. Aslund's book. claims that Russian populations have gained from fast and comprehensive reforms' and that economic decline and social hazards have been greatly exaggerated. Aslund, who helped to design the privatization programs in the middle of the past decade, goes on in the book to defend those blitzkrieg liquidations of state industries on the grounds that such formal privatizations were more equitable than spontaneous privatization.