Russia As It Is: Transformation of a Lose/Lose Society

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Summary: Must Read for USA Businesses and Government Officials
Review: After receiving my MS - Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and my MBA from Harvard, I have been involved in the world markets, selling American products and services. I have managed businesses in Europe and have structured small business deals in South America, Europe and the Newly Independent States.

In his book, Mr. Maly has addressed one of the most critical issues as to why American businesses and to a lesser extent European businesses fail in the overseas/foreign markets. The issues also point to why the US Government and its citizens too often give foreign people good reasons to dislike America. Americans fail to bridge the cultural gap by not understanding the culture of the foreign country, its business environment, and its people.

Americans, who for the most part have everything, take many issues for granted and forget that other countries and other cultures do not think like Americans, do not have the resources so prevalent in America, and live in circumstances often totally foreign to an American's life style. That failure to recognize and to understand the differences on the American's part is too often the reason American businesses often fail when they attempt to operate in different cultural and economic circumstances.

Mr. Maly has laid out his arguments in a style that sparks intellectual debate. Not all of his arguments will be agreed to, but the book's format is organized so that the debate can be argued rationally. That debate is much needed especially within US government agencies so that the US government policies relating to the Newly Independent States can be based on understanding of the other culture rather than on irrational expectations and misguided emotions.

Mr. Maly's book addresses the cultural and intellectual differences that all American and European businesses should study before sending their personnel to Russia.

This book is a must-read for all those who contemplate business relations with Russia as well as for government personnel and students striving to become involved in foreign relations.

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Summary: Best Book About Today's Russia I've Read.
Review: I have been involved in the development of civic education in Russia since 1995, including teaching democracy and human rights. The biggest problem was to explain to teachers and students the nature of problems they see in today's Russia and try to show the way to a civilized democratic society. We had old Soviet textbooks which could not be used any longer. We had books of Western authors which lacked deep understanding of post-Soviet reality. In that vacuum - Matthew Maly's book, Russia as It Is ("How to Make Russia a Normal Country" - in the Russian version), seemed to me the first and probably unique book explaining what was happening, why, and suggesting certain solutions. Although relatively small, the book gives a complete overview of the origin, current state and possible future of such indispensable features of Russian society as passiveness, envy, indifference and pessimism. What differs Mr. Maly's book from nearly all other research of this kind is that it lacks ANY ideology. This is a rare phenomenon for Russia and this made it possible for me to recommend the book to Russian history and civics teachers and scholars. Mr. Maly is a talented sociologist and the book is an academic research. Nevertheless, it is written in a simple language with a wonderful sense of humor.
I'm very glad this book is now available in English for foreign (non-Russian) readers, who, in my opinion, have not had a big choice if good books about today's Russia.
I recommend "Russia as It Is" as an educator involved in international relations, as a Russian with good knowledge of this country's history and as an optimist who believes that problem solving begins with understanding.

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Summary: Russians As They Are
Review: Matthew Maly has written a remarkable book that is indispensable for the understanding of Russia. I am an American living in Ukraine, a country with a culture very similar to that of Russia, and so this book was especially relevant for me. Maly has the advantage of having one foot on each side of what is a vast cultural and psychological divide, as he was born and raised in Russia, and educated after emigrating to America. This makes him uniquely qualified to explain this part of the world in a language that the West can understand. I would recommend this book not only to someone with an interest in Russia, but also to anyone who would like to understand that, elsewhere in the world, people don't just behave differently - they think differently - often in fundamental ways. Maly explains these basic differences and the reasons behind them. While Maly's thinking is well-disciplined, his writing style is friendly, fluid, and direct. His candor jumps off the page at you. It is not, thankfully, another history book; there are plenty of those, if you want them, but they won't explain Russia as it is - or the Russians as they are. For me, this was not a "must read" book - it was a "must read twice" book.

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Summary: Appalling to the Rational Western Mind
Review: Matthew Maly has written a thought-provoking book on why Russia seems doomed to flounder in a mire of self-imposed misery that appalls the rational Western mind. As a Russian who emigrated to America, he has the authority to speak frankly about his country of birth and to compare it with the West. He gives a trenchant rendering of the view that Western individualism maximizes the number of winners in society while the Russian collective instinct drags everyone down to the level of the lowest common denominator.
Personally, I part company with Maly at the point where he seems to argue that freedom can be imposed by force. I have never believed that you can make a plant grow by pulling its leaves. As a veteran Russia-watcher, I am grieved to see the Russians, while furnished with knowledge of the alternatives, freely choosing slavery. But Russia is not my country, it is none of my business and I can only respect their choice at this moment in history.
Maly's book, full of anecdotes and illustrations that solve many of the riddles of Russia, has helped me to reconcile myself to the way the country is, not the way I might like to see it. It is a must-read for Westerners hoping to do business in Russia and for Russians who are ready for self-knowledge.

Helen Womack, British-born writer, broadcaster and journalist

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Summary: Why are Russians so baffling to us?
Review: Matthew Maly's third book promises to shed more light on why Russians seem so baffling to us, and perhaps to themselves. A culture based on envy has inherent problems with economic development. I particularly appreciated his explanation of why they don't fix small things that would improve their lives: they are waiting to do something perfect, and can't waste their time doing anything halfway. Whether the reader agrees or not with Maly's provocative analysis, the book presents a stimulating array of ideas.

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Summary: Understanding Russia
Review: This book gets to basic sociological and historical issues that must be understood in order to make sense of what's going on in Russia today. It even helped me to understand some of the underlying elements of our society (USA). I like the way Mr Maly explains his thesis from different angles. I think this book should be made required reading for sociology and political science students.