Morris Bornstein was Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Michigan, USA. Dr. Bornstein's scholarly publications on comparative economic systems, the economies of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, and the economics of transition included seven books (some translated into Italian, Spanish, Chinese or French) and sixty journal articles and chapters in collective volumes.

Zvi Gitelman is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Michigan, USA. He studies ethnicity and politics, especially in former Communist countries, as well as Israeli politics, East European politics, and Jewish political thought and behavior.

William Zimmerman is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Michigan, USA. Professor Zimmerman taught at the University of Michigan throughout his academic career while occasionally teaching at institutions such as Harvard University and European University in St. Petersburg, Russia. His primary research areas are Soviet and Russian foreign and domestic policy, Eastern Europe, and comparative elites.