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ABSTRACTThe Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was a major exogenous shock, which greatly affected the scholarly field of Russian studies. Not only did some previous theoretical lenses and analytic approaches become outdated, but the intellectual and institutional infrastructure of scholarship in Russian studies also faced major challenges. In a sense, these changes were similar to the effects of the exogenous shock of the Soviet collapse on scholarship, albeit in the opposite direction in political terms. The article focuses on the need to search for new scholarly solutions for research into Russian politics and society amid major political, economic, and social deterioration and a high level of uncertainty. It will also critically reconsider previous achievements and shortcomings of Russian studies as well as their relevance in a post-2022 world. Some suggestions for reframing of the research agenda in Russian studies in the wake of recent developments are discussed.

AbstractSince the collapse of Communism, Russia and some other post-Soviet states have attempted to pursue socioeconomic reforms while relying upon the political institutions of neopatrimonialism. This politico-economic order was established to serve the interests of ruling groups and establish the major features of states, political regimes, and market economies. It provided numerous negative incentives for governing the economy and the state due to the unconstrained rent-seeking behavior of major actors. Policy reform programs revealed these institutions to be incompatible with the priorities of modernization, and efforts to resolve these contradictions through a number of partial and compromise solutions often worsened the situation vis-à-vis preservation of the status quo. The ruling groups lack incentives for institutional changes, which could undermine their political and economic dominance, and are caught in a vicious circle: reforms often result in minor returns or cause unintended and undesired consequences. What are the possible domestic and international incentives to reject the political institutions of neopatrimonialism in post-Soviet states and replace them with inclusive economic and political ones?