Sale of the Century

Taking an inside look into Russia´s rocky ride through the '90s towards democracy and a free-market economy, author Chrystia Freeland draws on extensive interviews and her experience as a Russian journalist, where she began reporting in 1995 for the Financial Times. Sale of the Century covers the emergence and impact of two crucial new power factions whose policies shook the nation: the fast-moving, flashy businessmen known as the "oligarchs," and the elite economists known as the "young reformers." Freeland also sheds light on the conflicts that emerged as directors of old Soviet firms were faced with radically new competitive demands.