792 SEER, 83, 4, 2005 callfor realismwhen studyingthe field, and acknowledgesthat transitionis an open-ended process that produces a variety of outcomes, many of which are farfromthose originallyintended. The main areas of concern with regardto the volume do not relate to the scholasticprowess of the authors.It is in fact not to be faulted. However, it is clear that the final and introductorychaptersto one side, the remainderwere completed in I999. As a resultthe reformsengineered by PresidentPutin are only takeninto considerationtowardthe beginning and the end of thevolume and then not with the same degree of rigourthat characterizesearlierpartsof the book. Secondly, much of the oeuvre has in fact been published in revised form in a variety of other academic publications. The authorsperhaps could have used the opportunity to consider the impact of the Putin reforms in greaterdetailwithin the main body of the text. These comments notwithstanding, advanced undergraduates,postgraduates and academics will find this to be an essential text that aids our understandingboth of politics in Russia and the natureof political transitions in general. School ofSociology, PoliticsandLaw KARL CORDELL University ofPlymouth Kets de Vries, M. F. R., Shekshnia, S., Korotov, K. and Florent-Treacy, E. T7he NewRussian Business Leaders. New Horizons in LeadershipStudies. EdwardElgar,Cheltenhamand Nothampton, MA, 2004. xxiii + 3I3 pp. Figures.Notes. Index. ?69.95. THIsbook is obligatoryreadingfor those planning to do businessin Russia or wishing to understand how business is conducted. TheNew RussianBusiness Leadersis written by a distinguished group of international management specialists,including two Russians. Using models and case studies of leading Russian companies and entrepreneurs,the authors draw conclusions about Russia's evolving business climate, the requirements for entrepreneurial success,and thevalue of internationalbusinesseducation forRussia'sbusiness leaders.These new leadersare quite diverse.Many used connections fromthe Soviet era (suchasleadershipin Communistyouth organizations),othersused celebrityand an innovative businessconcept (suchas a sportschampion with an insight that Russians would pay for fitness centres), and yet others combined with foreign businesspersonsfor capital and technology (Vimpelkom ). Some business successes appeared to happen by chance; others by design. The common feature, singled out by the authors, is tenacity the willingness single-mindedly to pursue a business concept to its fruition. The authorsprobe the 'uniqueness'of the Russian businessclimate, and realistically argue that standard business practices, naively applied, do not work in contemporary Russia. They spend perhaps an undue amount of space on national character,culture,historicallegacies (suchas collectivism),and even swaddlingin infancy to make the case that Russians are indeed 'different'(as most Russians themselves believe), but the authors provide little more than listsof possiblefactorswithout quantifyingtheirimportance.Of greatestvalue REVIEWS 793 are their case studies, such as of Danone's early operations, and then of a series of well-known and lesser known business figures and enterprises,such as Menatep and Yukos,Vimpelkom, Dialog Troika,and WorldClass Fitness. The authors focus primarilyon the formal side of doing business in Russia, although their case studies show clearly that most successfulbusinessleaders have had to use what could be described as 'unconventional' practices playing off of government connections, using state funds, buying with enterprisecash and selling for real cash. Even those businessleaders, such as the founder of World Class Fitness, who appears in the case study to avoid such backroom dealings, probably also had to resort to unconventional measures. (How did she obtain permission to build a studio in a privileged districtof Moscow?)The authorsanswera tough questionin theirconclusions: If only those succeed who can navigate the peculiar features of Russian business the absenceof trust,thelackof conventionalfinancing,corruption, arbitrary taxation, and so on why should they educate themselves in Western business techniques? Why should they adapt a new organizational model that 'will require abandoning some of the long-time practices and behaviorsof executives, middle managersand employees'?The answeris that 'to compete in the global world, Russian organizations should develop competencies masteredby theirinternationalrivals'(p. 301). Department ofEconomics PAULGREGORY University ofHouston, Texas ...