We are grateful to the many people who have contributed to our thinking on the issues addressed in this book. Though too numerous to list individually, we greatly appreciate the insight and support of all of the colleagues, students and friends who continually challenge and shape our perspectives. We are particularly grateful to a number of people who gave selflessly of their time, reading and commenting in detail on this book as it took shape, including: Charles Clover, Maria Lipman, Cecilia Martinez-Gallardo, Peter McKellar, Silviya Nitsova, Sarah Oates, Roland Oliphant, Roberto Palacios, Gulnaz Sharafutdinova, Marat Shterin, Regina Smyth, Tim Walker, Jonathan Weiler and Ilya Yablokov. We are grateful to the Smith Richardson Foundation for financial support for the surveys on which much of this book is based. Special thanks go to Svetlana Koroleva and Alexei Levinson at the Levada Center, and to Elena Koneva, for helping to make our research possible. And a debt of gratitude is owed to the entire team at Yale University Press, for helping to turn an idea into a book. Much of what works in this volume is down to the generosity and goodwill of all these people and more. Whatever does not work, however, remains the exclusive responsibility of the authors.