Timothy Colton

Colton was previously the director of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies and chair of the Department of Government at Harvard.{{Cite web|title=Timothy Colton|url=https://valdaiclub.com/about/experts/215/|access-date=2022-02-08|website=Valdai Club}} He was previously a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and vice chairman of the National Council for East European, Russian, and Eurasian Research.{{Cite web|title=Timothy J. Colton|url=https://www.hse.ru/en/org/persons/32299574|access-date=2022-02-08|website=www.hse.ru|language=en}}

Colton published The Dilemma of Reform in the Soviet Union in 1984, which dealt with the political and economic situation in Russia after the death of Konstantin Chernenko and rise of Mikhail Gorbachev.{{Cite news|last=CampbellFall 1984|first=John C.|date=2009-01-28|title=The Dilemma of Reform in the Soviet Union|language=en-US|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/capsule-review/1984-09-01/dilemma-reform-soviet-union|access-date=2022-02-13|issn=0015-7120}}{{Cite journal|last=Taubman|first=William|date=1985|title=The Dilemma of Reform in the Soviet Union. By Timothy J. Colton. New York: Council on Foreign Relations, Inc., 1984. xi, 113 pp. Paper.|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/slavic-review/article/abs/the-dilemma-of-reform-in-the-soviet-union-by-timothy-j-colton-new-york-council-on-foreign-relations-inc-1984-xi-113-pp-paper/C270D4F26D3C60CEA81F5AAC9E107D60|journal=Slavic Review|language=en|volume=44|issue=4|pages=739|doi=10.2307/2498571|jstor=2498571 |s2cid=159876233 |issn=0037-6779|url-access=subscription}} The book predicted that the tenure of Gorbachev would result in either moderate reform or increasingly conservative policy.{{Cite journal|last=Glucksman|first=James Lloyd|date=1987|title=The Dilemma of Reform in the Soviet Union (review)|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/433166|journal=SAIS Review|volume=7|issue=2|pages=226–227|doi=10.1353/sais.1987.0006|s2cid=153730296 |issn=1945-4724|url-access=subscription}} A revised and expanded version was published in 1987.{{Cite news|last=CampbellWinter 1986/87|first=John C.|date=2009-01-28|title=The Dilemma of Reform in the Soviet Union|language=en-US|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/capsule-review/1986-12-01/dilemma-reform-soviet-union|access-date=2022-02-13|issn=0015-7120}} In 1995, he published Moscow: Governing the Socialist Metropolis,{{Cite journal|last=Hoffmann|first=David L.|date=1997-06-01|title=Timothy J. Colton, Moscow: Governing the Socialist Metropolis|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/245532|journal=The Journal of Modern History|volume=69|issue=2|pages=411–412|doi=10.1086/245532|s2cid=151543612 |issn=0022-2801|url-access=subscription}}{{Cite journal|last=Wawruck-Hemmett|first=R. Connie|date=1998-10-01|title=Colton, Timothy J. Moscow: Governing the Socialist Metropolis|url=https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/abs/10.7202/1016624ar|journal=Urban History Review|volume=27|issue=1|pages=70–71|doi=10.7202/1016624ar|issn=0703-0428}} which was awarded the best scholarly book in government and political science by the Association of American Publishers.{{Cite web|title=Timothy J. Colton|url=https://scholar.harvard.edu/timothycolton/home|access-date=2022-02-08|website=scholar.harvard.edu|language=en}}

In 2000, he published Transitional Citizens: Voters and What Influences Them in the New Russia, which presented a model for Russian voting patterns based on previously conducted studies.{{Cite journal|last=Löwenhardt|first=John|date=2002|title=Transitional Citizens: Voters and What Influences Them in the New Russia by Timothy J.s>Colton (review)|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/819237|journal=Slavonic and East European Review|volume=80|issue=1|issn=0037-6795}} The book was noted for its systematic approach to Russian politics.{{Cite news|last=LegvoldNovember/December 2000|first=Robert|date=2009-01-28|title=Transitional Citizens: Voters and What Influences Them in the New Russia|language=en-US|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/capsule-review/2000-11-01/transitional-citizens-voters-and-what-influences-them-new-russia|access-date=2022-02-13|issn=0015-7120}}{{Cite journal|last=Mason|first=David S.|date=2001|title=Transitional Citizens: Voters and What Influences Them in the New Russia. By Timothy J. Colton. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2000. xi, 324 pp. Appendixes. Notes. Index. Figures. Tables. 24.95, paper.|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/slavic-review/article/abs/transitional-citizens-voters-and-what-influences-them-in-the-new-russia-by-timothy-j-colton-cambridge-mass-harvard-university-press-2000-xi-324-pp-appendixes-notes-index-figures-tables-6500-hard-bound-2495-paper/EF59098A01AEEE76D6F65054BE8FCF0E|journal=Slavic Review|language=en|volume=60|issue=3|pages=663–664|doi=10.2307/2696876|jstor=2696876 |s2cid=165111475 |issn=0037-6779|url-access=subscription}}

In 2008, he published Yeltsin: A life, which re-examined the reputation and legacy of Russian president Boris Yeltsin.{{Cite news|last=Keller|first=Bill|date=2008-05-08|title=Book Review: Timothy Colton's "Yeltsin: A Life"|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/08/arts/08iht-07keller.12688027.html|access-date=2022-02-13|issn=0362-4331}} The book received mostly positive reviews, which praised its writing and insight into the life and political career of Yeltsin. Luke March, in a review for Europe-Asia Studies, compared the book to Leon Aron's Yeltsin: A Revolutionary Life, finding Colton's arguments to be more "balanced and concise."{{Cite journal|last=March|first=Luke|date=2009|title=Review of Yeltsin: A Life|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27752308|journal=Europe-Asia Studies|volume=61|issue=5|pages=887–889|jstor=27752308 |issn=0966-8136}} Political scientist Peter Reddaway, writing for Johnson's Russia List, felt the book had "outstanding merits on the psychological side" but that the book showed Yeltsin in a good light.{{Cite web|title=:: Review of Timothy Colton, Yeltsin: A Life|url=http://www.russialist.org/archives/2009-162-35.php|access-date=2022-02-13|website=www.russialist.org}} Jonathan Steele of The Guardian gave a similar review, saying that he felt Colton sided with Yeltsin on most events and backed the book "by a tremendous amount of research."{{Cite web|date=2008-07-11|title=Review: Yeltsin by Timothy J Colton|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/jul/12/saturdayreviewsfeatres.guardianreview9|access-date=2022-02-14|website=the Guardian|language=en}}

In 2016, he published Russia: What Everyone Needs to Know, which is an overview of the political history of the Russian Federation. Rose Deller, writing for the London School of Economics blog, praised the book for its readability, in-depth analysis and "refreshing" approach to Russian politics.{{Cite web|date=2017-07-04|title=Book Review: Russia: What Everyone Needs to Know by Timothy J. Colton|url=https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2017/07/04/book-review-russia-what-everyone-needs-to-know-by-timothy-j-colton/|access-date=2022-02-13|website=LSE Review of Books}} This book was followed by the 2017 book Everyone Loses: The Ukraine Crisis and the Ruinous Contest for Post-Soviet Eurasia, which is an overview of the Russo-Ukrainian war. In East/West: Journal of Ukrainian Studies, Wolfgang Mueller called its claims regarding the origins of the war "quite simplistic", and wrote that "the authors pay tribute to the official Russian reading" by describing Euromaidan as a "violent overthrow".{{Cite journal|last=Mueller|first=Wolfgang|date=2021-04-28|title=Review of Samuel Charap and Timothy J. Colton. Everyone Loses: The Ukraine Crisis and the Ruinous Contest for Post-Soviet Eurasia.|url=https://ewjus.com/index.php/ewjus/article/view/650|journal=East/West: Journal of Ukrainian Studies|language=en|volume=8|issue=1|pages=255–256|doi=10.21226/ewjus650|s2cid=235558545 |issn=2292-7956|doi-access=free}} On the contrary, Andrei Tsygankov of Slavic Review stated that it was a balanced overview of the events.{{Cite journal|last=Tsygankov|first=Andrei P.|date=2018|title=Everyone Loses: The Ukraine Crisis and the Ruinous Contest for Post-Soviet Eurasia. By Samuel Charap and Timothy J. Colton. Abingdon, Oxon, Eng.: Routledge for the International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2017. 212 pp. Notes. Chronology. Glossary. Index. Figures. Maps. $21.95, paper.|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/slavic-review/article/everyone-loses-the-ukraine-crisis-and-the-ruinous-contest-for-postsoviet-eurasia-by-samuel-charap-and-timothy-j-colton-abingdon-oxon-eng-routledge-for-the-international-institute-for-strategic-studies-2017-212-pp-notes-chronology-glossary-index-figures-maps-2195-paper/DB555B25AAE7D193CAA990DBD197C2AC|journal=Slavic Review|language=en|volume=77|issue=2|pages=516–517|doi=10.1017/slr.2018.160|issn=0037-6779|url-access=subscription}}

• Everyone Loses: The Ukraine Crisis and the Ruinous Contest for Post-Soviet Eurasia. Routledge, International Institute for Strategic Studies. (with Samuel Charap, 2017)
• Russia: What Everyone Needs to Know. Oxford University Press. (2016)
• Yeltsin: A life. Basic Books. (2008)
• Popular Choice and Managed Democracy: The Russian Elections of 1999 and 2000. Brookings Institution Press. (with Michael McFaul, 2003)
• Transitional Citizens: Voters and What Influences Them in the New Russia. Harvard University Press. (2000)
• Moscow: Governing the Socialist Metropolis. Harvard University Press. (1995)
• The Dilemma of Reform in the Soviet Union. New York Council on Foreign Relations. (1984)

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• https://scholar.harvard.edu/timothycolton/home

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Category:21st-century American historians

Category:Living people

Category:20th-century American historians

Category:Harvard University alumni

Category:Historians of Russia

Category:Harvard University faculty

Category:American political scientists

Category:1947 births

Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences