Includes bibliographical references (pages 173-190) and index.

p. 1. The problem : why can't Russia, after three centuries of trying, modernize? -- The early arms industry : early achievement, later slump -- Railroads : promise and distortion -- The electrical industry : failed inventors of the nineteenth century -- Aviation : a frustrated master, a deformed industry -- Soviet industrialization : the myth that it was modernization -- The semiconductor industry : unheralded and unrewarded russian pioneers -- Genetics and biotechnology : the missed revolution -- Computers : victory and failure -- Lasers : genius and missed opportunities -- The exceptions and what they prove : software, space, nuclear power -- p. 2. What are the causes of the problem? -- The attitudinal question -- The political order -- Social barriers -- The legal system -- Economic factors -- Corruption and crime -- The organization of education and research -- p. 3. Can Russia overcome its problem today? Russia's unique opportunity -- Creating new foundations and research universities -- RUSNANO (nanotechnology) and Skolkovo (a new technology city) -- How Russia could break out of its three-centuries-old trap.