The well-known Burmese economist A. L. Simonia published a very relevant study on the development of Myanmar over the past quarter of a century- " Myanmar: Transition to a Market economy (1988-2011) "(Moscow, Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2012, 224 p). The book analyzes not only economic processes, but also gives a broad picture of changes in the politics, ideology, social life, and foreign policy of one of the most important countries in Southeast Asia. Myanmar occupies a key geopolitical position between China and India at the junction of the regions of South and Southeast Asia. Through Myanmar, China has the shortest access to the Indian Ocean, and India has access to the markets of the ASEAN member states. In addition, the country has recently become one of the largest suppliers of energy resources in the region, primarily natural gas, which is increasingly needed by its rapidly developing neighbors. It is not for nothing that a real battle is now unfolding between China, India, the United States and other states for influence on Myanmar. The value of the peer-reviewed work is unquestionable, if we take into account the fact that it is devoted to a turning point in Myanmar's history in many ways. Naturally, the study begins in 1988, when the spontaneous mass movement for democratic transformation that broke out in Myanmar was suppressed by the army, and the government of the Burmese Socialist Program Party was replaced by a military regime. The author examines in some detail the background and causes of the acute domestic political crisis of 1988 and the subsequent military coup. Among them, the country's long-term self-isolation, autarky, inefficiency of military and bureaucratic methods of managing the economy, lack of democratic freedoms and human rights violations are quite rightly mentioned. As a result, Myanmar is included in the list of least developed countries in the world. Several chapters of the work are devoted to ... Read more