Stephen F. Williams 
Liberal Reform in an Illiberal Regime [PDF ebook] 
The Creation of Private Property in Russia, 1906-1915

An examination of property rights reforms in Russia before the revolution reveals the advantages and pitfalls of liberal democracy in action—from a government that could be described as neither liberal nor democratic. The author analyzes whether truly liberal reform can be effectively established from above versus from the bottom up—or whether it is simply a product of exceptional historical circumstances.