The discussion in this articles by Dr. Pekka Sutela, ranges from macroeconomic stabilisation to privatisation, but the underlying theme of the papers is the question about the characteristics and performance of the emerging Russian market economy. Leaving a centrally managed economy is the banalside of the equation; the crucial issue is what kind of market economy there is. The argument presented in this book is that the contours of the new system are already visible, that they will probably remain quite similar in the time foreseeable, and that they give little reason to expect a fast-growing, efficient and competetive economy. The open crisis erupted in Summer 1998 has not only short- time consequences. It will also strengthen many of the characteristics studied in this book. This book is a collection of articles written over the period of 1993-1998. There is a unifying theme for these articles, in which the range of topics covered is of wide variety: what is the new Russian economic system actually like? Dr. Pekka Sutela, the head of the Bank of Finland Institute of Economies in Transition (BOFIT), is a prominent Finnish specialist in Russian and Soviet economic thought, policies and development.