ABSTRACT:
The study develops the notion of the long Kondratieff cycles in the capitalist world economy and applies this framework to the study of instability and decline in Russia and Eastern Europe. Whenever there is a Kondratieff low, you have a Gorbi, while the upswings in the East are always related to the centralization of authority. Seen under these conditions, Yelzin will fail in his democratization attempt in Russia. The study also critically applies other world system theory notions to the study of Eastern Europe and the end of Communism.
