The Novgorod region of Russia is a sparsely populated area about the size of Ireland better known for its medieval archaeology and folklore than for anything else. Although Novgorod began the post-Soviet period with no unusual endowment of natural or human resources, it has attracted a large amount of foreign investment. Its dramatic economic success and political innovation have impressed observers. Local governments deliver benefits and services reliably, and the regional government responds quickly to citizens' needs and demands. Something noteworthy is happening in Novgorod that does not square with familiar headlines about contemporary Russia: oligarchs and oil, ethnic tensions and corruption.

Nicolai N. Petro attempts to explain the Novgorod phenomenon by seeking answers at the regional level. Novgorod is, he finds, a model of effective democratic consolidation. Petro suggests that the region owes its unexpected recent success to its political elites, who have identified key cultural symbols and used those symbols to promote democratic development. Drawing on comparisons with other regions and countries, Petro finds that these cultural tactics often yield better results than do Western-style institutions and educational training programs.

"Current efforts to promote democracy focus too much on structural changes and not enough on the conditions needed to sustain them," Petro writes. "For the rule of law, free markets, and free and fair elections to gain broad public support, they must first make sense within the local cultural tradition." The unexpected success of regional democratic development in a country not known for its democratic traditions suggests that local governments can transform the burden of the past into an ally of change, a finding with implications for democratic development initiatives in other areas of the world.

Nicolai N. Petro is Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island. He is coauthor of Russian Foreign Policy: From Empire to Nation-State and author of The Rebirth of Russian Democracy: An Interpretation of Political Culture.

Petro's is a doubly innovative contribution. To the copious, contentious literature on 'democratization,' he introduces the novel (though not entirely original) notion that the process should be studied at the local as well as the national level. One needs to explain why a region such as Novgorod, where he has spent considerable time, has done so well on this path, while other Russian regions with comparable characteristics have not. Second, he argues that the answer lies not where most political scientists look—that is, in institutions and the incentive structure of actors—but in culture. Culture, in the form of symbols drawn from history, not only can serve as context in turbulent times, but can also 'cause' change, and with surprising speed. Although Petro has a tendency to make culture the agent, he is in the end arguing that it comes down to how players make use of symbols—if they are lucky enough to have useful ones.

Petro's case for Novgorod's success is compelling and his theoretical discussion is challenging and valuable.

Petro extols the virtues of the political model that has evolved in Novgorod province in northwestern Russia. He criticizes mainstream authors for concentrating on democracy at the national level while ignoring positive examples in the regions.

Nicolai Petro has crafted a book of great merit, starting with its subject—democratization on a regional scale, as opposed to that of an entire country. In addition to painting a vivid picture of Novgorod, he examines different approaches toward explaining the phenomenon of its democracy, enlisting numerous works on democracy building... A book of great value that can be considered an important landmark in both democratization and regional studies.

When it comes to Novgorod, Nicolai N. Petro is clearly in a league of his own. His nuanced and important book is based on extensive field work in the region and close access to many key individuals. Petro brings his research to bear on existing theoretical approaches, mounting a critique while generating an original theory.

The publication of this book is an event for those who study the legacy of Novgorod the Great in the establishment of the structures of civil society in Russia.... One of the few studies of contemporary Russian reality that applies historical facts and theoretical political concepts professionally in order to make sense of the democratic reforms of the past decades.... Petro's approach opens fundamentally new horizons for understanding the prospects for the democratic transition of Russian (and not only Russian) society, by viewing the country as a landscape of varied symbols, each having the potential to be utilized for effective, democratic social reforms.

Petro offers a fresh template for the future, suggesting that, at a time when the exportation of democracy is being debated for its efficacy, new ways to make democracy work—even in the darkest corners of the world—are not only necessary, but possible.