If there is a single theme that runs through the contributions to the current issue of >i>Problems of Economic Transition (PET),>/i> it is that the Russian state will come to play a greater role in the management of the economy than has been the case in the preceding decade of reform. All of the authors agree that some form of industrial policy is a necessity for Russian economic development, as is the strengthening of the state's capacity for revenue collection. An equally important theme emerges in the sense of urgency that has pervaded the Russian context, punctuated by considerable anxiety over the (then) Primakov government's slowness in addressing core issues. Of course, none of the authors can be held accountable for failing to anticipate the erratic gestures of Boris Yeltsin, but the subsequent removal of Primakov and then Sergei Stepashin have doubtless heightened the concerns raised here that political struggles in the Kremlin have postponed the honest facing of critical issues.
