1. Russia Chapter 4

2. Section One: The Making of the Modern Russian State

3. Communist and Post-Communist Countries  China, Cuba, North Korea only left  All claim to have roots in Marxism  Communist Manifesto 1848  End of classes  Stress equality  Marxism-Leninism  Lenin changed nature of communism by asserting “vanguard” of revolution  Based government on democratic centralism – vanguard would lead  Communist Party was vanguard organization  Legitimacy of the state rested on the party  Those who led selected through nomenklatura  China’s Mao  Shared Lenin’s equality and cooperation ideas but based on peasant class  1976 Deng Xiaoping began market based socialism  China’s transition was gradual, Russia’s was “shock therapy”

4.  Gender Relations  Saw traditional gender roles as result from inequality of capitalism  Saw communism as complete equity between men and women  But idea not fully realized  Communist Political Economy  Characterized by central planning  Face problems of logistical difficulties and lack of worker incentives  New Economic Ties  Russia no longer has ties to communism and China  Part of BRIC  China and Russia have authoritarian governments  Both have integrated capitalism but in different ways

5. Politics in Action  1991 Fall of USSR  Russian Federation created  Population cut in half but still largest country in the world  Boris Yeltsin advocated “shock therapy” and free market  After Yeltsin  Putin elected 2000, 2004, 2012 as president  Putin elected 2008 as Prime Minister  Modern Russia no experience with democracy, free markets  called hybrid system, democratic backsliding, authoritarian tendencies  2012 moved officially back to authoritarian regime by Democracy Index

6. Geographic Setting  After break up in 1991 – 15 nations emerged  Russian Federation is our focus  74% live in urban areas today  Rich in natural resources  Has been repeatedly invaded and challenged  Is multiethnic state

7. Historical Influences on Political Traditions  Centralized rule  Cultural heterogeneity  Slavophile v. Westernizer  Revolution: 1917 and 1991

8. Critical Junctures  The Russian Revolution and End of Tsarist State  Until 1917 ruled by tsar with patrimonial state  Political legitimacy based on autocratic rule  Majority of population was peasants tied through serfdom  Russian bourgeoisie failed to emerge  Defeat in Russo-Japanese war and WWI caused strikes and uprisings  The Bolshevik Revolution and Creation of the Soviet Union  March Revolution creates provisional government  November Revolution brings Bolsheviks led by Lenin to power  Appealed to peasants with “Land, Peace, and Bread”  Based ideology on democratic centralism and vanguardism  Power came from Politburo  1922 created USSR and began communism  New Economic Policy begun  Plagued by internal struggle; death of Lenin in 1924 led to Stalin’s Rise

9.  Stalin Revolution – 1929 to 1953  Began period of international isolation  Allies in WWI tried to oppose Bolsheviks but Stalin silenced all opposition  Changed regime to totalitarianism  State owned almost all assets  90% of land  Favored heavy industry  Set up Gosplan – state planning agency  People driven off land and pushed to industry  Media censorship and state control of the arts  Anyone disagreeing with party/state was charged with treason  Communist Party only party allowed to function  Purges under Stalin began – 5% of population arrested – left legacy of fear  Isolated from outside world – did join Allies in WWII  Their defeat of Germans led to shaping of post-WWII world  Set up Warsaw Treaty Organization

10.  Attempts at De-Stalinization  1953 Stalin dies – set off stabilization of politics  Nikita Khrushchev ruled form 1955 to 1964 – rejected terror as policy of control, revived Communist Party as political institution  Leonid Brezhnev – 1964 to 1982 – partially reversed de-Stalinization, controls tightened, dissenter dealt with, put repression was predictable  Brezhnev created social contract with the people: for political compliance got job security, low prices, free social services, etc.  Late 1970s ineffective at addressing problems facing the USSR  Perestroika and Glasnost  Mikhail Gorbachev took office 1985 and began  Perestroika - restructuring  Glasnost - openness  Democratization  New Thinking on foreign policy  Triggered fundamental change in relationship between state and society  Competitive elections held for 1 st time since 1920s  Republics calling for autonomy and economic woes plagued Gorbachev  1989 refused to prop up E. European governments – they fell one by one

11.  Collapse of the USSR – Creation of Russian Federation  1991 Yeltsin becomes president  Coalition attempts coup and puts Gorbachev under house arrest, Yeltsin rallies opposition and helps end coup  Yeltsin more radical than Gorbachev – declares Western style democracy and market reforms in economics  Standard of living drops immediately, led to showdown in October 1993 with parliament – lays siege to White House (Russian)  Mandates referendum for Constitution of 1993  1999 Yeltsin nominates Vladimir Putin Prime Minister – former KGB – then resigns  2000 Putin wins presidency – 2008 hands it off to Medvedev and becomes Prime Minister again – reelected to presidency in 2012  Has created a government that is less of a transitional democracy and more authoritarianism – democratic backsliding  Putin has consolidated power by:  Cult of personality  Eliminated elections of regional governors  Made it more difficult for NGOs to operate in Russia  Invaded Georgia, the Ukraine, attacks on Chechnya  Pressure on media

12.  Russia’s Political Culture is Shaped by Three Things:  Its geographic setting  Borders other nations with vastly different political cultures and customs  History shaped by numerous invasions  Numerous natural resources locked in Siberia  Its cultural orientation  Sided early on with Constantinople instead of Europe  Values statism (state has central control over social and economic affairs)  Its conflicting attitudes toward the state  Equality of result – egalitarianism  Skepticism about power – have little faith in the political system  Importance of nationality – admire Baltic people, express distain for Muslim-Turkic people – also issues with anti-Semitism

13. Section Two: Political Economy and Development

14.  Russia has trouble with gradual and ordered change – those that enacted gradual change failed, but Stalin’s abrupt Five Year Plan had success  Russian History has three distinct time periods to discuss their economic and political development  Autocratic Rule by tsars – 14 th century to 1917  Rule by Communist Party – 1917 - 1991  Procedural democracy and free market – since 1991

15.  Autocratic Rule by tsars – 14 th century to 1917  Moscow princes cooperated with Mongols – when Mongols weakened declared themselves tsars and were autocratic  Were head of Russian Orthodox church  Tsar Peter the Great introduced western technology and culture  Tsarina Catherine the Great – German – gained warm water access to Baltic, was enlightened despot  Russia had contact with west due to Napoleon’s invasion 1812  Russian defeat in Crimean War convinced many that Russia was backward  Alexander II ended serfdom but intelligentsia didn’t like his actions and had him killed 1881 – Alexander III undid many of his dad’s reforms  VI Lenin 1905 – Marxist – publishes pamphlet and argues for democratic centralism with vanguard leadership (Marxism-Leninism) – feels would lead a revolution  Called Bolsheviks

16.  Rule by Communist Party – 1917 - 1991  Immediate causes of revolution were loss in Russo-Japanese War and WWI  Tsar Nicholas II able to silence 1905 revolt, but 1917 too powerful  1918 Civil War between White Army and Red Army – Red’s won  Lenin began his New Economic Policy – died before naming a successor  Stalin came to power and put Communist Party at center of control – 7% of population belonged – leaders picked through nomenklatura system  Top government officials belonged to Central Committee – 300 leaders who met 2x a year  Above Central Committee was Politburo – head of Communist Party – 12 men - head of Politburo was General Secretary – country’s leader  Stalin began collectivization and industrialization - had Five Year Plans all planned and carried out by Gosplan  Lack of consumer goods continuing problem  Stalin known for his purges – at his death 1953 Nikita Khrushchev takes power – speaks about Secret Speech of Lenin and begins de-Stalinization  Lost power due to reforming nature and Cuban Missile Crisis – Leonoid Brezhnev takes over until his death – conservative but predictable  1985 Gorbachev focuses on western-style reforms in effort to save Communist Party and control over Russia – didn’t work well  Recession, Chernobyl, lack of social programs for Russians, shortages, all caused problems for Gorbachev

17.  Procedural democracy and free market – since 1991  August 1991 coup attempt failed  December 1991 11 republics declared independence – end of union announced and 15 republics separated  Yeltsin heads up Russian Federation – 3 branch government with president, prime minister, lower legislative house called the Duma, a Constitutional Court and shock therapy to help the economy  He tried to: lift price controls, encourage private enterprise, open economy to international influences, privatize state owned industries  1992 attempted to privatize companies using joint-stock companies sold to workers and managers – led to corruption  Wealthy businesses (oil, gas, telecommunications) fell into the hands of industrial conglomerates that got wealthy  Agricultural reform even less of a success  Late 1990s Russia in depression worse than US Great Depression – bartering common, government behind in wages, pensions, social benefits  State faced increasing power of oligarchs  Russia unable to repay many creditors – defaulted on bonds, faced bankruptcy, banks closed, but ushered in positive changes  Devalued ruble led Russian producers competitive  State budgets benefited from improved tax revenues - budget surplus replaced deficit  Barter declined – economy grew  Foreign debt load declined

18.  Economy also helped by increase in oil and gas prices internationally  Putin created Stabilization Fund to help economy when gas prices fell  Putin created National Priority Projects to deal with issues concerning population decreases, healthcare, education, housing  Created Ministry for Economic Development and Trade – simplified tax code, control money laundering, new labor codes, new customs codes, pension reform, reduction of housing subsidies  Putin also worked to reign in power of oligarchs who were quite wealthy  2015 due to falling gas prices and sanctions from the West over the Ukraine, had to sharply borrow from stabilization fund and cut spending (austerity)  Unemployment very high among minority populations  Dealing with low birth rate and fears that population will drop 205 by 2050  Corruption a major problem – Transparency International gives Russia a 27 out of 100 points (same as Nigeria, Lebanon, Iran, Cameroon)  Russia is a “high capture” economy  Elements of Russian culture have prevented market economy from fully taking hold  Weak tradition of individual entrepreneurship  Widespread commitment to egalitarianism  Reliance on trust rather than contracts  Profit less importance than friends/coworkers  Selection of business partners more about contacts than merit  Culture of bribes and special favors

19. Section Three: Governance and Policy Making

20.  Political Institutions  Constitution of 1993 laid legal foundation for today’s state institutions  Created institutional conflict between governing structures that leads to stalemates  Two head executive also can lead to tension  Relationship between executive and judicial branches conflict driven  High authoritarian tradition  USSR was highly centralized but maintained federalism – Russian Federation has retained that model with 89 regions – each bound by a treaty that some of them have not signed (like Chechnya)  Has asymmetric federalism – power devolved unequally across the country  Putin has cracked down on regional autonomy and has created federation that is highly centralized:  2000 created 7 super districts to supervise all local authorities in district  Law that allows president to remove any governor that doesn’t follow national law  Ended direct election of governors – now nominated by president and confirmed by regional legislature  Governors now prohibited from serving in the Federation Council  Ended single member district seats in Duma – now are all based on proportional representation and must earn 7% of national vote to win any seats

21.  Linkage Institutions  Parties  1995 there were 43 on the ballot, by 2012 only 5 on the ballot  One of most important changes in Russia was shift from single to multiparty elections  They do not fit on a spectrum from right to left – most are new and young and trying to still develop (with the exception of the Communist Party)  United Russia  Founded 2001  Party of Putin  Dominate party  Ideology hard to define except pro-Putin  Communist Party of the Russian Federation  Second strongest party in Duma  Led by Gennady Zyuganov  Emphasizes central planning and nationalism  Seen as only opposition to Unite Russia – appeals to older Russians  Liberal Democrats  Led by Vladimir Zhirinovsky  Extreme nationalist and populist – anti-Western, anti-Semitic, sexist  Supports government on key issues

22.  A Just Russia  Formed 2006 and led by Sergei Mironov – Putin Loyalist  Argued whether should oppose Putin in 2004 and party split off Fair Russia  Patriots of Russia  Many feel is a Kremlin product  Party of “statists” and “patriots”  Elections  Three types of national elections happen  Referendum  Duma Elections  Presidential Elections  Has been questions about honest of elections since Putin elected  Interest Groups  Only allowed in USSR under state corporatism  1991 former members of nomenklatura bought up industries and became oligarchs – became a loose interest group  Tied to Yeltsin’s family  Monopolized Russian industries  Resisted by Putin (Berezovsky, Gusinsky, Khodorvshy – all exiled or jailed)

23.  State Corporatism – state says who will have input into policymaking  Insider privatization an issue in Russia today  Russian Mafia  Larger and more shadowy than oligarchs  Gained power in chaos of 1991  Thrive on payoffs, money laundering, deals with Russian government  Have murdered bankers, journalists, businessmen, members of Duma  Media  In USSR government paper was Pravda – 1991 became independent  Under Putin Pravada became a tabloid  90% of Russians get news from Russian TV directly controlled by the Kremlin  Electronic media increasingly reflecting government's position  Print media more diverse but pressure used by national and regional governments has occurred  Examples of violent attacks on journalists who expose corruption or are outspoken another concern  NTV  Anna Politkovskaya  Alexander Litvinenko  Novaya Gazeta

24.  The Executive  President and Prime Minister  Constitution of 1993 created semi-presidential system  President is head of state – but is VERY powerful unlike in the UK  Prime Minister is head of government  President elected every 6 years, limited to two consecutive terms, appoints prime minster and cabinet, can issue a decree that has the force of law, can dissolve the Duma, is commander in chief, among many other roles  Power of decree can’t violate the constitution but can allow president to ignore uncooperative/divided parliaments – decree has force of law until a law is passed  Anyone with a million signatures can run for president  Impeachment is complicated  Prime Minister takes over if president resigns, focus is on the economy  Prime Minister can be removed by Duma if two votes of no confidence in 3 months  President must get approval from Duma for Prime Minister but if they reject him three times, he can dissolve Parliament

26.  The National Bureaucracy  Despite efforts to reduce size is quite large  Has no constitutional status and can be abolished at will, some important ones are  Security Council – foreign policy and security  State Council – 7 regional heads that meet monthly  Ministers other than Prime Minister do not need parliamentary approval  Recommended by Prime Minister, appointed by President  Career bureaucrats  Work in clientelistic networks  Is not based on merit-based civil system so suffer low levels of public respect

27.  The Legislature  Federal Assembly – created 1993 – weak check on the executive  Federation Council – Upper House  2 members from each of the 89 federal regions  Represents regions not populations  1 appointed by Governor and 1 by regional legislature  Only real power is to delay legislation  Duma – Lower House  Proportional representation every 4 years  Passes bills, approves the budget, confirms president’s appointments  4 factions control the Duma – United Russia dominates  Has a speaker  Does not reflect demographics of the country  Are all granted immunity from criminal prosecution  Have powers in legislature and budgetary areas but only used if work with high degree of unity – president can override them by veto – 2/3 of each house needed to override veto  Federation Council - confirm judges, decides on troops deployments, approves presidential decrees

28.  The Judiciary  Under USSR no independent judiciary existed  Gorbachev began law-based state, judicial independence, due process  1993 Constitution created Constitutional Court – judicial review  Composed of 19 judges appointed by the president  Confirmed by Federation Council  Has taken care to not cross Putin since he became president  Constitution also created Supreme Court  Final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases  Does not have power to challenge constitutionality of laws  Independence of both courts from executive is questionable  Suffer from a lack of expertise – wasn’t until 2007 that Putin brought in procedural codes for criminal and civil rights  Corruption is a problem  Often used by Putin as instrument of state’s power rather than tool for protecting citizens

29.  Rule of Law and Corruption  Rule of law is blocked by corruption in the state and political tradition of allowing the police to act autonomously  USSR had KGB  Today have Federal Security Service – are considered the least corrupt state agency in Russia today  Corruption also drags economy with amount of money used for bribes  Other State Institutions  Public and Semipublic Institutions  Most were privatized but some state ownership remains  Education and health care still tax supported  Political authorities still appoint executive officials in public institutions so tie is close  Military and Security  Used to be largest and 2 nd most powerful in the world – controlled by Communist Party  Since 1991 collapse has remained loyal to civilian control but power of military has declined, concerns internationally about nuclear security  Universal male conscription for 1 year – often go unpaid  High crime rates indicate low capacity of state to provide security

30.  Subnational Government  Collapse of USSR duet o demands of some republics for autonomy or independence  Russian Federation faced challenge of creating viable federal structure  Constitution of 1993 says they all have equal status but some more assertive in claiming autonomy  Some have declared sovereignty – rejected by Constitutional Court  Do have some special rights like declaring a second language or adopting their own constitutions  Has produced asymmetrical federalism  Putin has created “power vertical”  Created 7 federal districts on top of existing federal units  Work to oversee federal offices in operation in these areas  Work to ensure compliance with federal laws and the constitution  He weakened independence of regional governors – used to sit on Federation Council – but in 2002 that power was removed  Now one regional representative is appointed by the governor and one is selected by the regional legislature  Putin did create State Council to give those governors a voice  Putin has blamed local level leadership/corruption for attacks in Russia so he eliminated direct election of governors – he now nominates them and the local legislature approves them  Regional differences in tax distribution has also caused some tension

31.  Policy-Making Process  Occurs formally and informally  Budget proposals put forth only by the governments  Under Putin, Duma usually just abides by proposals made by the president  Proportion of policies proposed by executive has increased a lot  For bill to be a law must be  Approved by both houses of parliament in three readings  Signed by the president  If vetoed must pass in same form by 2/3 majority of each house again

32. Section Four: Representation and Participation

33.  Cleavages  Nationality – single most important cleavage in Russia  80% ethnic Russian, 20% minority groups  Some want independence – Chechnya – Muslim region- is an example  Involved in numerous terrorist attacks  2004 seizure of a school in S. Russia  Russia concerned their success would lead to other republics breaking away  To gain legitimacy held referendum on new constitution but did not stop fighting  Recent terrorist attacks have heightened prejudices – state policy feeds stereotypes  2007 banned noncitizens without proper paperwork from work in outdoor markets  2008 invaded Georgia  2009 suicide bomber tried to kill president of Ingushetia  Russian nationalists taken responsibility for kidnappings, beheadings, bombings  2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi increased security of these areas  2014 march on Ukraine has led to international sanctions

34.  Religion  Tsarist Russia was Russian Orthodox  USSR prohibited religious ideology  Today most identify as Russian Orthodox but are nonreligious  2007 Russian Church Abroad and Russian Orthodox church rejoined  Other religions are represented in small percentages with rapid rise in Muslims in  Moscow  The Caucasus  Bashkortostan and Tatarstan  Social Class  Tsarist Russia’s peasant distinctions were abolished but replaced by cleavage of members of Communist Party vs. non members in 1917  Economic favors given to party members only  In modern Russia new socio-economic class emerging: entrepreneurs who have amassed fortunes  Putin has targeted some oligarchs  Vladimir Gusinsky  Boris Berezovsky  Mikhail Khodorkovshy  Urban vs. Rural – 73% live in urban areas – more western and better educated than those in rural areas

35.  Beliefs and Attitudes – formed under Marxism and Stalinism  Mistrust of government – even when high approval for Putin (currently at 89%)  Statism – expect the state to take an active role in their lives  Economic belief that market transition was positive  Slavophile vs. Westernizer is ongoing dispute  Defense of individual rights vs. maintenance of order also a problem  Some attitudes toward government have endured since tsarist period:  Acceptance of personalistic authority  Highly centralized leadership  Desire for an authoritative source of truth  Political Participation  Did vote in USSR but forced to so nearly 100% voted in noncompetitive elections  Do participate in protest at times – like 2012 decision by Putin to run for president again  Voter turn out is still pretty high but some concerns about fairness of recent elections  2001 law that party must have affiliates in over ½ of regions to be a viable party  2007 law changing elections to strictly proportional representation  Also raised threshold to 7% of total vote to get seats – has lessened power of regional parties

36.  Civil Society  Under Soviets argued party represented the people’s interests – had a state corporatist arrangement where government was in control of channeling the voice of the people  Today despite high voter turnout, participation in other forms is low – due to undeveloped civil society  But appears to be growing – so Putin has begun new restrictions: investigation sources of income, making registration difficult, police harassment  NGO’s face very hard road in Russia today – must register as a “foreign agent”  Russian Youth Groups  Largest is Nashi but also Youth Guards and Locals – organized by Putin  Done to build following of loyal, patriotic people and to diffuse their youthful resistance  Has organized mass marches in support of Putin  Seen as modern version of Komsomol but nurture violence, intolerance, fascism  Most express anti-Western sentiments  Said organized to educate youth in Russian history and values and promote volunteer groups

37.  Women  Russia based on traditional family values  Women primarily responsible for family and childcare  Femininity expected in all areas  Declining birth rate shows fracture in society – created national Day of Conception  Feminism not popular in Russia – seen as inconsistent with traditional notions of femininity  With breakdown of economy some women turned to prostitution and/or drug use – HIV/AID is increasing

38. Section Five: Russian Politics in Transition

39.  Current Issues – abrupt changes has made continuous policy making difficult in Russia  Economy  Yeltsin tried “shock therapy”  1997 – 2007 situation improved with better gas prices but 2008 world recession caused serious economic problems  2015 is in a recession due to  Lack of diversification  Drop in oil prices  Sanctions  Corruption  Dealing with concerns of privatization vs. state control  State owned industries monopolize  Rosneft – oil  Gazprom – natural gas  Russian Technologies – weapons

40.  Foreign Policy  Relations with Near-Abroad Regions  Confederation of Independent States  15 nations  Bound by trade  Long way from regional power like EU  Ukraine  2005 Putin campaigned for president Yanukoych – calls of corruption when he won  2006Gazprom reduced pressure in pipeline to deny them natural gas  2013 Yanukovych rejected trade deal with EU in favor of bailout from Putin - calls of corruption  Yanukovych removed from power – May 2014 Poroshenko elected  2014 Crimea invaded – 77% Russian, Ukraine said invaded but Russians said it wasn’t them, 90% of Crimeans’ voted to become part of Russia, NATO called it “referendum held at gunpoint”, today fighting through out Ukraine between “pro Russian” and “pro Ukrainian” forces  Russia vs. Estonia  2007 removed Soviet-era statue and ethnic Russians attacked areas downtown  Computer blackout next day had many accusing Russia of cyber attack

41.  Georgia  2008 Russian troops rolled into S. Ossetia – breakaway region  Russia announced support for separatist regions of Georgia then invaded  Ceasefire and peace plan brokered by Sarkozy but 2008 Medvedev signed decress recognizing S. Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states in violation of the treaty  Relations with the West  Biggest adjustment has been loss of superpower status  Was welcomed into G-7 – now called G-8  2012 entered the WTO  Its relationship defined by its clout in oil and gas  Seems to have more interest in maintaining relationships with BRIC nations than Europe  Putin sided with USA in 9/11 but war in Iraq caused tension  Tensions increased with Russian invasion of S. Ossetia and Ukraine  Kremlin has banned US couples from adopting Russian orphans

42.  Terrorism  Chechen rebels have attempted independence since 1995  2002 seized Moscow Theater – 173 killed  2004 suicide bombing near subway station in Moscow  2004 two Russian planes blown up almost simultaneously  2004 siege on Beslan school – 331 killed  Putin argues that only a tighter grip by central government will foil the terrorists  Population Issues  Low birth rate and poor health habits  Abortion was quite common in USR – 2010 has highest number of abortions per woman in the world  2013 population drop finally stopped and went up.2%  Has encouraged Russians to come home from abroad  Re-Centralization of Power in the Kremlin  Not clear if marks end of democratic experiment in Russia or simply a reaction to terrorism  Putin’s reelection of 2012 shows that he would maintain policymaking until at least 2018

43.  Development of Civil Society  Notion of civil society starts with acceptance of two areas of life: public one defined by the government and private one where people are free to make their own choices  Russians do not share assumptions that civil society rests on: liberty, life, property  They are more influenced by traditions of statism  Homosexuality in Russia  Since 2006 have become more restrictive  June 2013 criminal to distribute “propaganda” among minors in support of “non-traditional” sexual relationships  Rise of homophobic propaganda, violence, and hate crimes