This often grim discussion of post-Soviet Russia--where a sharply deteriorating economy had led the Congress of People's Deputies to order President Yeltsin to dismiss Prime Minister Gaidar--is enlivened by both men's gift for the vivid illustration. VW: "Let me just tell you an unpleasant joke that is circulating in Moscow. A man gets up in the morning, flips on the light, and the light comes on. He says, 'Gee, the light's back.' He goes into the kitchen, turns on the water, and there's water. He says, "The water's back on.' Then he says, 'I bet the gas is working.' He turns on the gas and the gas is working. He says to his wife, 'To the barricades! The Communists are back!"... WFB: "I hate to use the word 'conservatives' in this context, but--" VW: "I refuse to use it in this context. I refuse to call Boris Yeltsin's opponents conservatives. They are extreme, leftist, Stalinist Communists."