Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: The Pattern of Russian Liberal Reforms and its Implications for Russia and the United States

The current political and social turmoil in the erstwhile Soviet Union challenges the U.S. to devise new methods for effectively dealing with Russia and the independent republics of the Commonwealth. Part of this challenge involves the evaluation of the most likely changes arising from the revolution, the most probable course of events, and their implications for U.S. foreign relations. This study argues that the history of Russian liberal reforms has followed a definite pattern, and that an examination of the history of these reforms can provide U.S. foreign policymakers a tool with which to understand the dynamics of today's situation. Ultimately, this study argues that the U.S. must become thoroughly intertwined with Yeltsin's Russia and support the establishment of a liberal democratic society, or risk the backlash of conservative Russian elites.