Moscow: IV RAS Publ., 2007, 480 p.

The reviewed monograph can be considered as a continuation of the work of Yu. G. Alexandrov "Transition Economy: the Russian version", published in 1999. The fact that the author consistently develops the topic of the Russian transition economy and its prospects is welcome. It is obvious that the topic is complex, causes contrary judgments, is very responsible and extremely relevant. It can be noted that the peer-reviewed work is the author's luck. In it, he combined a thorough analysis of specific processes in the Russian economy with a broad formulation of the question of the country's development paths. Undoubtedly, the work will cause criticism and disagreement, but it is obvious that it presents high-quality scientific research on a really relevant topic, which is of great interest to a wide range of specialists, and with the application of the scientific potential of a comprehensive regional analysis, which is accumulated in Oriental studies, to the problems of Russia's development.

Sections and chapters of the monograph clearly reflect the structure of the study, and their titles are informative and imaginative. In fact, the analysis is conducted in four areas: economic issues of Russia's development, social processes in our country, Russia and the CIS countries, the experience of Eastern countries on the path of catch-up development, and globalization as a background for any development strategy of the Russian Federation-

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sii. The author thoroughly examines both current processes and the recent economic and political history of Russia and the USSR, which ensures the credibility of many assessments of development prospects, their predetermination by past trends in the country's life.

Some parts of the book are sharply polemical, but the author uses clear formulations of problems and controversial issues, and argues with those who are on other positions in the discussion of ways to reform the Russian economy, and such discussions are interesting to the reader. For example, the controversy with academician D. S. Lvov in the chapter "Natural rent in the transition economy "is conducted on the" field " of the opponent at a high level of application of the theory of rent. The work includes numerous references to leading Russian economic journals (Expert, Neftegazovaya Vertikal, etc.), Internet sites, and statistical yearbooks. This fills the monograph with specifics of the country's economic life and the state of economic sectors. Based on the facts, the author draws a detailed and fairly complete picture of the economic situation in Russia. On this basis, the assessment of the country's development strategies looks reasonable.

Yu. G. Alexandrov examines the situation in the branches of the Russian economy (Chapter 7), demonstrating (at least from the point of view of the reviewer who had to deal with industry aspects of Russian development) deep knowledge of industry problems from oil refining to aircraft construction. On pages 268-270, a full - fledged analysis of the market for Russian oil products is given, and on pages 277-283, the Russian telecommunications market is analyzed. Brief, but informative.

It is difficult to disagree with the author's comparison of the results of microelectronics development in Russia and abroad. Starting from the statements of the Nobel laureate Academician Zh. Alferov, Yu. G. Alexandrov shows that in our country the development of electronics was closely connected with the creation of military equipment, while all over the world electronics brought to life new production directions focused on the mass end user. In general, the book objectively and convincingly shows the range of complex problems that stand in the way of the development of the manufacturing sectors of the Russian industry. The prospects of this sector of the economy are constantly discussed by politicians, officials, businessmen and scientists. There are a lot of projects from pure Manilovism to specific business plans. Of course, we really want Russia to restore mechanical engineering, chemistry, and other industries, but this is difficult for technological, human resources, and market reasons. Yu. G. Alexandrov writes about this.

The analysis of social processes in the paper precedes the analysis of economics. Chapter 1 "Social policy of the Russian state" combines both the analysis of social models of the state structure in the modern world and the study of specific processes in the social sphere of Russia. The analysis of models is necessary for the author, because, as he rightly notes on p. 11, in modern Russian society and political circles, there are still different views on ways to achieve social justice. The applicability of different models of social structure to Russia is clearly considered and seems very appropriate, since it allows, as well as for economic strategies, to consider the multi-variant development of our country, the "space of states" in terms of probability theory, into which Russia can fall under different development scenarios. Unfortunately, in modern periodicals and monographs, one can often find an exposition, or even propaganda, of a single line of development without an objective analysis of alternatives.

Specific social processes are considered systematically and with a large amount of statistical data. The paradoxical nature of many processes in the social sphere and employment during the transition period experienced by Russia is well shown. For example, on pages 62-63, an example of rapid growth and high efficiency of family farms in rural areas is given, which develop more successfully than farmers and collective farms. No one foresaw such a variant of changes in agricultural production.

Studying the relations between Russia and the post-Soviet states, first of all Central Asia, developing after the collapse of the USSR, the author rightly pays special attention to ethno-social processes, pointing out the specifics of Soviet Central Asia as part of the USSR, which in the conditions of independence of the former Soviet republics faced a complex of complex conflicts and contradictions, some of which moved to immigrants.

Yu. G. Alexandrov dispassionately shows the complexity and complexity of the problems of immigration to Russia from the CIS countries and the formation of ethnic trade communities on its territory, which are politicized in our country. Chapter 2 provides a lot of facts that go into more detail.

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the general situation on the labor market in Russia, and those aspects that are related to labor immigration and the peculiarities of its national composition. On the one hand, there are facts indicating that domestic agriculture in the southern regions of Russia is largely based on the labor of immigrants, on the other hand, it is noted that some immigrants in Russian cities are engaged in openly criminal activities, including drug trafficking.

Another example of the author's analysis of the difference in views in Russian society on social justice and the paradoxical social processes in a transitional society, which we mentioned above, is the attitude of Russian poor citizens to representatives of Azerbaijani and Chinese ethnic trade communities described in the section "Trade minorities". This is usually malevolence, which gives way to dissatisfaction with the actions of the state in the event of prosecution of the activities of these merchants, since they are the ones who provide the market with cheap goods.

Yu. G. Alexandrov's position as a researcher of Russian problems has a very significant advantage-an analysis of our country's strategy in connection with processes outside its borders, both global and regional. This analysis, as well as other sections of the paper, is conducted as a polemic with other researchers and politicians, but is based on the author's involvement of significant facts about the development of the economies of other countries, in particular the PRC. It seems that Yu. G. Alexandrov's conclusion that " in China, the huge sector of the peasant economy, which is socially inert in comparison with urban society, provides the rapidly developing modern enclave of the economy with food, raw materials and labor, while remaining at the same time a shock absorber of economic and social contradictions of modernization "(p. 155), clearly defines the difference Russia and China, shows the limited significance of the Chinese experience for modern Russia.

The multidimensional analysis of globalization processes in Chapter 6 provides the necessary background for assessing Russia's capabilities in the modern world. As A. G. Alexandrov rightly points out, decades of isolationist policies in Russia have led to the fact that our country has lagged far behind the main processes of development of productive forces. The forms of organization of its economy do not meet the requirements of the modern world. The author again emphasizes that there are different options for development in the context of globalization, and Russia needs to see different ways to integrate into the world economy.

In general, the work turned out to be interesting, relevant, informative and informative.

It is difficult to refrain from polemics with the author on some points. Nine tables and not a single graph on 30 sheets of the text of a book on economic issues is very small. The reader is likely to miss some facts based on the analysis of statistical material, if the numbers are scattered in the text, and not summarized in a table. The "vicious circle of universal default" mentioned on page 33 is a thing of the past. When analyzing the labor market, the author avoids the question of the shortage of qualified personnel in industry. This is a new problem that has emerged in the course of economic growth in recent years, but it is now coming to the fore. In chapter 2, the author writes about the" more natural " transition of the peoples of the North Caucasus to modern economic conditions in Russia, but this naturalness is a return to archaic and traditional redistributive processes for this region, among which trade is a legal form, but there are many illegal ones. There are no signs of a transition to a modern industrial or post-industrial economy.

According to the author, reliance on hydrocarbon reserves as an invaluable comparative advantage and the concept of national and global energy security can be the most important components of Russia's movement to a more favorable position in the global economy and a multipolar world. Undoubtedly, this strategy has already brought Russia a significant improvement in the economic and foreign policy situation compared to the 1990s. It has fewer obstacles to its implementation, if only because it is provided with infrastructure and personnel, which can not be said, for example, about mechanical engineering, but the question arises: how many years will natural resources last for the development of the fuel and energy sector and what will happen to the economy outside of it? The author's conclusion: Russia is not a "Eurasian tiger", but a "cat that walks by itself", and its possible paths to success differ from those taken by others. Some areas along this path have already been selected, but much remains to be done.

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