i88 SEER, 84, I, 2006 insights into grassrootspolitics in Russia today, and in the last years of the Soviet Union, have rarely been matched and should be taken note of by anyone with an interestin contemporaryRussia. CentreforRussianandEast EuropeanStudies JEREMY SMITH UniversityofBirmingham Stoliarov, Mikhail. Federalism andtheDictatorship ofPowerin Russia.Routledge Studiesof Societies in Transition, 23. Routledge, London and New York, 2003. xv + 288 pp. Notes. Index. ?70.00. MIKHAIL STOLIAROV providesa thoughtfulandwell-documentedexamination of the development of federalismin post-Soviet Russia.Drawing on historyas well as recent political and institutional developments, he examines the strengths and weaknesses of current federal arrangements and provides an assessmentof theirprospectsforfuturestability.In hisposition as FirstDeputy to the Permanent Representative of Tatarstan in the Russian Federation, Stoliarov is well placed to evaluate the way in which federalism has been institutionalized and practised. By and large, he is successfulin providing a real-world analysis which complements theoretical approaches to Russian federalism. It comes as no surprisethat his analysisrejectsthe 'greatpower' rhetoricof Vladimir Putin. Rather, he advances a model of federativerelationsbased on the importance of dialogue and negotiation between federal and regional authorities. Seeking to transcend the dichotomy put forward by many politiciansand academicsin Russiaand abroadbetween strongstatehood and weak federalism, he argues that a more balanced, even nuanced, view is required in order to take Russia's diversities into greater consideration. Indeed, federalism and stability in Russia are unlikely to be fostered by the imposition of order and a power vertical, but stem from better acknowledgement of Russia'smultinationalcharacterand the state'sinstitutionalizationof minority and ethnic rights (p. I62). Stoliarov argues that the I993 constitution although imperfect contains the tools requiredto addressRussia's diversity,notably its provisions on contractual and negotiated distributionof powers and competences. The book contains four sections. Stoliarov begins with an analysis of the traditionsof statehood andpower in Russia, demonstratingthe historicalroots and resonance of Putin'sgreatpower rhetoric.He arguesthat this rhetoric that strongauthorityis a prerequisitefor stabilityin Russia is at the root of the difficultiesin implementingfederalism.The second section, 'Rollercoaster of Russian federalism', traces the developments during the I990S, especially in lightof the debateswhich emerged atthe end of the El'tsinregimeregarding the benefitsand weaknessesof hispracticeof negotiatingasymmetricalpowersharing agreements. Stoliarov gives particularattention to Tatarstan'streaty and itssignificanceas a potential model of federal-regionalrelationsin Russia. In the third part, the author analyses some of the competing theories and models as to what constitutes the path which would be most conducive to unity and stabilityin Russia'sfederalsystem. He arguesthat many commentators , including political leaders and Russia's Constitutional Court, do not REVIEWS I89 have a proper appreciation of the significance of bilateraltreaties in Russia's federal practice because they treat Russia as a territorial rather than multinational federation. In his concluding chapter, Stoliarov considers Russia's republics in greater detail, particularly the debates regarding the place and statusof ethno-territorialunits in the federalsystem. Mikhail Stoliarov's book provides a coherent, well-documented view of federative relations in Russia, written from a point of view which is sympatheticto the plight of its ethnic republics.It providesa good overviewof Russian-language scholarshipand commentary and of the debates in Russia on the pros and cons of differentapproachesto federalism.Given the author's position, it would have been interesting to get more of a behind-the-scenes look at how the Tatarstan-Russiarelationship has evolved during the I99os. Considering the preponderance of analyses of the Tatarstan model of federative relations and the importance of the republic in recent scholarship, an insider's perspective is sorely needed. Moreover, the author provides comparisonswith otherfederalsystems,such as Germany,the US or Belgium, which could have been developed more fully. As they stand, they are somewhat superficialand peripheralto his analysis. The Russian original of this book was published in 2001. Although the empiricalmaterialislimitedto thefirstyearsof Putin'spresidency,the analysis has held up well. The analyticalframeworkMikhail Stoliarov establishesis a usefulguide to understandingcurrenttrendsin Russia'sfederaldevelopment. Department ofGovernment DAVID CASHABACK London School ofEconomics andPoliticalScience Kolst0, Pal and Blakkisrud,Helge (eds).Nation-Building andCommon Values in Russia.Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, MD and Boulder, CO, 2004. viii + 382 pp. Figures. Tables. Notes. Appendix. Bibliography. Index. [57.00. THIs book is the third volume in a series on nation building and ethnic integration in post-Soviet societies. The two...