The Politics of Democratization: The Moscow Election of 1990

An American political scientist studying the 1989 elections in Moscow applies advanced analysis techniques to data gathered in the field. The study is based on a uniquely large number of observations. The election process, the main political blocs fielding candidates, and their campaign strategies are outlined and discussed. Regression analysis is used to identify relationships between election results and the socioeconomic characteristics of candidates as well as of the electorate in urban neighborhoods. The effort represents the first systematic attempt to trace the broad sociological contours of democratic elections in the USSR on the basis of statistics compiled by a Western scholar. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 128, 931.