The “New Literary Review” Publishers has released a collection of journal articles by Egor Timurovich Gaidar “Two Civilizations” – the second volume in the series “Library of the Journal ‘Untouchable Reserve’”. The collection was compiled by Viktor Yaroshenko with the support of the Yegor Gaidar Heritage Foundation.
The book includes articles by E.T. Gaidar, many of which later became chapters in his books. Drawing on his experience in high politics, the works of Russian and foreign economists, historians, and sociologists, as well as statistical data, Egor Gaidar analyzes the issues of “catch-up development,” the connection between Russian and European history, and the forks and breaks in the path of Russia's modernization. At the heart of his research project are two lines of civilizational development: the repeatedly recurring “Eastern despotism” (or “agrarian empire”) and the “ancient anomaly” that originated in the ancient Greek polis and carries with it the ideas of democracy, freedom, and property based on law. One of the central questions that preoccupies the author is: what is the fate of Russia, which finds itself at the crossroads of two fundamentally different socio-political worlds?
A significant part of the book consists of publications from the journal Vestnik Evropy – XXI vek (Herald of Europe – 21st Century), of which Yegor Timurovich Gaidar was one of the founders and leading authors. In their journalistic form, these texts are aimed at a wider readership and also convey the author's ideas in a more concentrated form.
The book will be of interest not only to historians, economists, and political scientists, but also to anyone who wants to gain a deeper understanding of the underlying causes of Russian modernization and its historical crossroads.