Labour and Political Transformation in Russia and Ukraine (Routledge Revivals)

This title was first published in 2000. The years 1975 to 2000 are characterized by fundamental changes in the global political landscape. Perhaps the biggest change was the collapse of certain communist regimes. This text analyzes what that meant for the USSR and Europe. It looks at the cause of change, the social forces behind them and future prospects. "In examining labour's relationship to the Soviet state, the role played by workers in the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the subsequent political evolution of independent Russia and the Ukraine, this book's strengths lie in the originality of the methodology employed together with the scope of analysis. It offers a coherent analysis of the important issues of Soviet-type systems, the place of Labour within them, a critique of the dominant paradigm for analysis of regime change, a challenge of the view that Russia and Ukraine have established capitalist systems, and a survey of labour's relations with the state and enterprise management. This text will grab the reader's attention, especially those from political science backgrounds, both students and those in academe, and industrial relations for courses on Labour or comparative studies."--Jacket. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Dedication 3 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 List of Tables 7 Preface 8 1 Labour and Political Change in the Global Political Economy 10 2 Labour and the Soviet State 36 3 Perestroika and Labour's Response 61 4 Labour, Democratisation and the Collapse of the USSR 93 5 Labour, State and Democracy in Russia 122 6 Labour, State and Democracy in Ukraine 153 7 Theorising Transition and the Role of Labour 181 Bibliography 194 Index 209