Roy Medvedev analyzes the main events that have transpired in the Russian federation since late August 1991. He looks at the plans that were meant to restructure a society in crisis but - for reasons both complex and obvious - were destined to fail. From the drastic liberalization of prices and "shock therapy and " to the privatization of state owned property and Yeltsin's resignation and replacement by Vladimir Putin, this is a saga of good intentions, philosophical warfare, and catastrophic miscalculations.