John Odling-Smee’s book describes the transformation of planned economies after the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union.

The style of the book is calm and reasoned. The author does not defend the IMF or himself, but does suggest what might have been done differently—maybe not by the IMF, but by the countries in transition. He shows how deep political weakness—above all, corruption and cronyism—prevented the growth of real market economies.

This book was written before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and so does not cover this tragedy, but it describes its roots very well. The failure of reforms led to corruption, cronyism, and oligarchy—which led to Putin and war. It is useless to point fingers when asking, “Who lost Russia?” Russia lost itself, and only Russia can raise itself up.

Opinions expressed in articles and other materials are those of the authors; they do not necessarily reflect IMF policy.