Crafting Democracy: How Novgorod Has Coped with Rapid Social Change. By Nicolai N. Petro. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2004. 255p. $39.95.

In examining the reasons why Russia is now having problems making the transition to democracy, many scholars cite the absence of a democratic past. Seeing Russia as a country unremittingly ruled by authoritarian leaders, analysts increasingly are viewing Vladimir Putin's turn away from democracy as “natural” and part of Russians' yearning for a ruler with a “strong hand.”