2020 Prix francophone de l’ACSP

Winner: Guillaume Sauvé

Subir la victoire : essor et chute de l’intelligentsia libérale russe (1987-1993) (Les Presses de l’Université de Montréal, 2019)

Excerpt from jury report: In this book, the author recounts the commitment of liberal intellectuals to democratic transition during the effervescent period of perestroïka. With a fine analysis that demonstrates all the divisions and aspirations of the Russian intelligentsia, the author paints a portrait of intellectual and social movements that oscillate between support for so-called “enlightened” autocrats and aspirations for clear-cut transitions to democracy and economic liberalism. In doing so, the author challenges some of the classic explanations for this chaotic transition to a new political system. The author concludes that because of these conflicting visions, Russian intellectuals have only enjoyed a pyrrhic victory.