The great errors -- Size matters -- The cost of the cold -- Geography is not destiny -- Siberia : plenty of room for error -- Disconnected Russia -- Taking stock : how much has changed? -- Can Russia shrink? -- Russia of the mind -- Tearing down Potemkin Russia

This is a provocative look at a problem that has been overlooked since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The book argues that years of forcing people and economic activity out into the vast, resource-rich, but inhospitably cold, territory of Siberia has burdened Russia with huge problems and costs