Through a series of essays written by leading authorities on the former Soviet Union, Perspectives on the Russian State in Transition offers an integrated picture of the politics, economics, society, culture, and geopolitics underpinning the move toward economic and political stability in the former Soviet Union. The volume engages with key questions relating to Russia's political and legal order, civil society, energy resources national security, and environment.  It is available for downloading in pdf format (in full and by chapters).

The volume was published by the Woodrow Wilson School with content based on work prepared for and presented at conferences held as part of LISD's research initiative on the former Soviet States.

The second volume in the series, Building State and Security in Afghanistan, was published in 2007 and reprinted by Lynne Rienner Publishers in 2010.