I use the transliteration system of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, which I believe is easier for non-Russian speakers to read than the Library of Congress system (Basayev rather than Basaev, Serdyukov rather than Serdiukov, etc.). I have also used the familiar English form for well-known names (e.g., Ingushetia rather than Ingushetiya, Khodorkovsky rather than Khodorkovskiy). Soft signs are omitted from the main text (e.g., Rossel instead of Rossel'), but preserved in the notes. In cases in which Russian authors have published in English under more than one spelling (e.g., Nikolay/Nikolai Petrov) I have tried to preserve the spelling used for that publication. Other exceptions to this system may occur and are accidental; my apologies.

All translations from Russian are mine unless otherwise noted.

NOTE ON INTERVIEWS AND PRIMARY SOURCES

Much of the material in the book comes from interviews and press accounts. Appendix A provides a list of abbreviations used for Russian- and English-language newspapers and magazines. Appendix B provides a key to the interviews, organized by city and then alphabetically. Anonymity was offered to all respondents and provided when requested. Unless otherwise specified, quotes from speeches by Putin and Medvedev are available at one of the following Web sites: http://archive.kremlin.ru/ (Putin) or http://www.president.kremlin.ru (Medvedev).