AP Comparative Government and PoliticsThe Russian Federation: Study and Activity Guide

Readings: Kesselman Chapter 8 (Power Point overview is also available on the HW and Assignments page) O’Neil Chapter 7 Wood Review, Russia

Timeframe: Reading and Activities should be completed by Tuesday, Feb. 3rd

Please note: There is a lot of work to do here - much more than the previous units. I am accounting for our relative lack of familiarity with Russian gov. and politics. The unit activities included should give you the background necessary for the AP Exam.

LEARNING OBJECTIVESAfter reading this chapter, You should be able to:

1. Trace the development of the Russian polity, and recount the various stages that ultimately led to the foundation of the contemporary Russian Federation.

2. Understand the broad outlines of the Soviet centrally planned economy and its extensive social safety net.

3. Analyze the impetus for reform of the Soviet system and the policies of perestroika, glasnost, and demokratizatsiia.

4. Explain the revolutionary transformation of the Soviet political system, from a single-party communist system to a formal democratic system, and understand the basic outlines of Russia’s political institutions.

5. Understand the relative powers of the Russian president and prime minister, and explain the unique mix of formal and informal actors involved in the policy-making process.

6. Discuss the mixed electoral system used in Russia, describe the country’s major political parties and their platforms, and understand the dominance of the United Russia Party.

7. Understand the major challenges facing Russia for the future.

INSTRUCTIONAL OUTLINEI. The Making of the Modern Russian State

A. Until 1917, Russia was ruled as an autocratic state by the tsar, with much of the population living in conditions of serfdom dominated by nobles.

B. The 1917 Revolution established a communist regime characterized by democratic centralism, under the leadership of the Bolshevik Party, which established the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) in 1922.

C. Joseph Stalin (1929–1953) established the basic characteristics that would govern the Soviet state until the collapse of the communist system in 1991.

D. Under Mikhail Gorbachev (1985–1991), the Soviet Union underwent a comprehensive reform process including perestroika, glasnost, and demokratizatsiia, which ultimately led to the end of communism.

E. Russia is now a formal democracy, but one with significant tensions and fault lines, including emerging domination by the United Russia Party under presidents Vladimir Putin (1999–2008) and Dmitry Medvedev (2008–present).

II. Political Economy and DevelopmentA. During the Soviet period, land, factories, and all significant productive assets were state

owned. The Soviet model was characterized by rapid industrialization, provision of mass social welfare benefits, high levels of education, and low levels of inequality.

B. Inefficiency and the top-heavy nature of economic planning undermined the long-term viability of the Soviet economic model and led to perestroika and glasnost during the 1980s.

C. Beginning in 1992, Boris Yeltsin initiated radical market reforms and economic shock therapy, which while relatively successful in macroeconomic terms, have increased inequality primarily as a result of the process of “insider privatization” and the elimination of the traditionally extensive social safety net.

D. President Putin initiated a series of economic reforms in 2000 that significantly improved the economy, however it continues to be dominated by oligarchs and dependent on oil production and other natural resources.

III. Governance and Policy-MakingA. Though during the Soviet period the constitution established many provisions traditionally

found in a democratic state, most of its principles were ignored, making it largely symbolic.B. Although liberal ideas underwrote early movements toward democracy in post-Soviet

Russia, the expansion of presidential power under Putin and Medvedev has undermined many of these democratic principles.

C. Though the Russian constitution, adopted in 1993, established a semipresidential system modeled on France, the primary locus of power and policy-making in Russia is the presidency because of its formal and decree powers.

D. Russia is organized along the lines of asymmetrical federalism, in which different regions have varying privileges within the Russian Federation.

E. The contemporary Russian policy-making process is much more complex than others analyzed in the text, involving extensive interaction between myriad formal and informal actors.

IV. Representation and ParticipationA. Parliamentary power is constrained in the Russian system, primarily by the power of the

president, but also because the fragmented multiparty system failed to produce parliamentary majorities until the emergence of the United Russia Party.

B. The Duma (the lower house of parliament) has 450 members chosen through a proportional representation system (a reform of the previous German-style mixed system, which was employed until 2007).

C. Although the immediate post-Communist Party system was very fractionalized and lacked a majority political party, United Russia has emerged as politically dominant on regional and national levels.

D. Observers have increasingly questioned the fairness of elections in Russia, as various types of political control limit the ability of opposition parties to gain support, compete in elections, and exert other forms of political power.

V. Russian Politics in TransitionA. Increasingly, Russia is moving toward soft authoritarianism.B. Russia will have to face a series of challenges as it moves forward with its process of

democratization and the deepening of a market economy. The state must act especially to limit the power of entrenched economic interests, like the oligarchs, and deal with severe disparities of wealth and income.

C. The threat of terrorism has markedly increased in Russia with a series of disturbing tragedies since the fall of the Soviet Union.

D. Internationally, Russia must take measures to make its economy attractive to foreign investors and to define its new international role.

E. In terms of international political power, one of Russia’s main challenges is to reestablish itself as a respected regional leader in neighboring countries.

Glossary

RUSSIA

market reform A strategy of economic transformation that involves reducing the role of the state in managing the economy and increasing the role of market forces.

asymmetrical federalism

A form of federalism in which some subnational units in the federal system have greater or lesser powers than others.

civil society A term that refers to the space occupied by voluntary associations outside the state, for example, professional associations, trade unions, and student groups.

clientelistic networks

Informal systems of asymmetrical power in which a powerful patron (e.g., the president, prime minister, or governor) offers less powerful clients resources, benefits, or career advantages in return for support, loyalty, or services.

collectivization A process undertaken in the Soviet Union under Stalin from 1929 into the early 1930s and in China under Mao in the 1950s, by which agricultural land was removed from private ownership and organized into large state and collective farms.

democratic centralism

A system of political organization developed by V. I. Lenin and practiced, with modifi cations, by all communist party-states. Its principles include a hierarchical party structure.

dominant party A political party that manages to maintain consistent control of a political system through formal and informal mechanisms of power, with or without strong support from the population.

federal system A political structure in which subnational units have significant independent powers; the powers of each level are usually specified in the federal constitution.

glasnost Gorbachev’s policy of “openness,” which involved an easing of controls on the media, arts, and public discussion.

insider privatization

The transformation of formerly state-owned enterprises into jointstock companies or private enterprises in which majority control is in the hands of employees and/or managers.

joint-stock companies

Business firms whose capital is divided into shares that can be held by individuals, groups of individuals, or governmental units.

mafia A term borrowed from Italy and widely used in Russia to describe networks of organized criminal activity.

nomenklatura A system of personnel selection in the Soviet period under which the

Communist Party maintained control over the appointment of important officials in all spheres of social, economic, and political life.

oligarchs A small group of powerful and wealthy individuals who gained ownership and control of important sectors of Russia’s economy in the context of privatization of state assets in the 1990s.

patrimonial state

A system of governance in which the ruler treats the state as personal property (patrimony).

power vertical A term introduced by Vladimir Putin when he was president to describe a unified and hierarchical structure of executive power ranging from the national to the local level.

privatization voucher

A certificate worth 10,000 rubles (at various times between four and twenty U.S. dollars) issued by the government to each Russian citizen in 1992 to be used to purchase shares in state enterprises undergoing privatization.

proportional representation (PR)

A system of electoral representation in which seats in the legislative body are allocated to parties within multi-member constituencies, roughly in proportion to the votes each party receives in a popular election.

pyramid debt A situation in which a government or organization takes on debt obligations at progressively higher rates of interest in order to pay off existing debt.

siloviki Derived from the Russian word sil, meaning “force,” Russian politicians and governmental officials drawn from the security and intelligence agencies, special forces, or the military, many of whom were recruited to important political posts under Vladimir Putin.

soft authoritarianism

A system of political control in which a combination of formal and informal mechanisms ensure the dominance of a ruling group or dominant party, despite the existence of some forms of political competition and expressions of political opposition.

sovereign democracy

A concept of democracy articulated by President Putin’s political advisor, Vladimir Surkov, to communicate the idea that democracy in Russia should be adapted to Russian traditions and conditions rather than based on Western models.

state capture The ability of firms to systematically turn state regulations to their advantage through payoffs or other benefits offered to state officials.

vanguard party A political party that claims to operate in the “true” interests of the group or class that it purports to represent, even if this understanding doesn’t correspond to the expressed interests of the group itself.

CRITICAL THINKING ACTIVITIES AND QUESTIONS1. Russia experienced a transition from a single-party system to a fragmented multiparty system.

Analyze this transformation. Underscore the difficulties associated with the brand of multipartism that exists in Russia, and suggest options for transforming the Russian party system into one that is more workable.

2. News analysts sometimes point to Russian political culture as the source of the creeping authoritarianism the country faces. Complete the following AP Comp. Gov. activities. (You will find the materials and instructions for these at the back of this study guide):

A. The persistence of Political Culture

B. Characteristics of Russian Political Leadership

C. Nomenklatura: Path to Power

3. Revolution

A. The Russian Revolution of 1917 is understood by most analysts as a social revolution. The American Revolution, on the other hand, is often referred to as a political revolution. Compare the American political revolution to the Russian social revolution in terms of their goals, policies, and rhetoric.

B. Complete the AP Comp. “Stages of Revolution” activity. (You will find the materials and instructions for this activity at the back of this study guide):

4. The textbook characterizes Russia as a case of “soft authoritarianism.” Why is this the case? What are the elements of “soft authoritarianism” in Russia? After Responding to this question, complete the “Russia and Illiberal Democracy” activity found at the back of this study guide.

5. Analysts often contend that the primary problem with the Russian economic system is insufficient capitalism. Does the state play too much or too little a role in the economy? Provide a review of a recent new article that deals with this issue

6. What are the similarities and differences in the challenges posed by terrorism in Russia versus those faced by the United States? Reference at least two of the articles listed and linked below in your response:

Terrorism in Russia: Will there be more? | The Economistwww.economist.com/.../21592672-russians-feel-vulnerabl...The EconomistJan 4, 2014 - IT WAS always a question of when rather than if. Russia has been bracing itself for an attack since July, when Doku Umarov, the ...

Terrorist attacks up in Russia as Winter Olympics near ...www.washingtontimes.com/.../terrorist-attacks-rus...The Washington TimesJan 30, 2014 - Russia has suffered a huge increase in terrorists attacks the past 10 years, says a new report that underscores the threat athletes and tourists ...

Terrorism in Russia: Beslan 10 years on - Telegraphwww.telegraph.co.uk/.../terrorism-russia-beslan.htmlThe Daily Telegraph Oct 4, 2014 - As Russia marks the 10th anniversary of the nation's worst terrorist atrocity of modern times, Gevorg Mirzayan explores how the terror threat has ...

Russia's Counterterrorism Policy - Perspectives on Terrorism www.terrorismanalysts.com › Home › Vol 3, No 1 (2009)by MY Omelicheva - 2010 - Cited by 10 - Related articlesRussia's Counterterrorism Policy: Variations on an Imperial Theme. By Mariya Y. Omelicheva. For over a decade, Russia has struggled with persistent domestic ...

How Russia Created Its Own Islamic Terrorism Problem time.com - Jan 2011The terrorist attack at the Moscow airport on Jan. 24 was horrific, murdering dozens of innocent civilians. It is probably linked to Chechnya or the surrounding areas in the Caucasus, ...Explore: islam and terrorism

2014 Sochi Olympics: Russia in Terrorists' Crosshairs go.com - Dec 2013The Olympic Games belong to the world. Hosting them is a point of genuine national pride. This February, everyone will be watching the Winter Games, which Russia is hosting -- and ...Explore: sochi games

Russia's Chechnya has long terrorist connections usatoday.com - Apr 2013Militants from Chechnya and other restive regions in Russia's volatile North Caucasus have targeted Moscow and other areas with bombings and hostage-takings.

COMPARING COUNTRIES1. A two-round presidential election is used in Russia. Would the United States benefit from the

adoption of a two-round presidential election system? How would such a change transform the dynamic of political competition in the country?

2. Russia abandoned its mixed ballot systems in favor of a proportional representation system for Duma elections. In comparative perspective, proportional representation systems have a reputation for leading to the proliferation of parties. Is this likely to happen in Russia? Would it be a positive or negative development, considering the recent emergence of United Russia as a dominant party?

Activity 1: The Persistence of Political Culture

Part A

Directions: Examine the following eight characteristics of the political culture of Tsarist Russia. Then, identify examples of the eight characteristics in the political culture of either the Soviet Union or the contemporary Russian Federation (recent Russian actions in regard to Ukraine may provide some interesting parallels.).

Characteristics of the Political Culture of Tsarist Russia

1. A sense of universal mission (the preservation of authentic civilization)

2. A true faith and suppression of alternatives (Russia was the custodian of pure {Orthodox} Chistianity)

3. A highly centralized, all powerful state (the Tsar was the source of all authority)

4. The desire to expand Russian power and influence (a long tradition of expanding geographically and culturally)

5. The absence of civil liberties (no heritage of “natural rights” enlightenment thought)

6. The use of military and secret police to enforce the true faith and obedience to the state (necessary to exercise the authority of the Tsar)

7. The conversion of non-Russians to Russian faith and culture (“Russification” of the natives in the near abroad)

8. Total control of communication within the society (since the Tsar was the source of all truth, religious and secular, errant thinking has to be eliminated)

Part B

Directions: Based on the information collected in Part A, develop realistic proposals in response to the following questions:

1. If reformers in Russia want to promote effective democracy there, what is one institutional change, or change in the way government and politics operates, that they should advocate?

2. If an international organization like the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, or the G-8 wants to encourage the development of a free-market economy in Russia, what policy(s) should they advocate?

3. In light of the political culture of Russia, how should the West (U.S. EU, NATO, etc) respond to Russian actions in Ukraine?

Activity 2: Characteristics of Russian Political Leadership

Part A.

Directions: Since 1917, there have been ten top political leaders in the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. Examine the list below. Then write a brief description of each person’s background, style of leadership, and successes or failures. In addition, write a brief description of the times in which that person led Russia (including significant events). You may want to divide and conquer this assignment and share your research. I would suggest that one of you take the 1’s, one the 2’s and one the 3’s…your choice.

1. Vladimir I. Lenin (1917-1924)

2. Joseph V. Stalin (1924-1953)

3. Nikita S. Krushchev (1953-1964)

1. Leonid I. Brezhnev (1964-1982)

2. Yuri V. Adropov (1982-1984)

3. Konstantin U. Chernenko (1984-1985)

1. Mikhail S. Gorbachev (1985-1991)

2. Boris Yeltsin (1991-1999)

3. Vladimir Putin (1999-2008)

1. Dmytry Medvedev (2008-2012)

2. Vladimir Putin (again)…(2012-present)

Part B.

Directions: Use the results of Part A to write several generalizations about Russian leaders. In addition, describe any differences you detect between the last three (Yeltsin, Putin, Medvedev) and their predecessors.

Activity 3: Nomenkaltura: Path to Power

Activity 4: Stages of Revolution

Activity 5: Russia and Illiberal Democracy

Illiberal Democracy and Vladimir Putin's Russia

by Neil J. MitchellUniversity of New MexicoAlbuquerque, New Mexico

Over the last two decades electoral politics have spread far beyond the wealthy West, crossing economic, ideological, and cultural frontiers, so that now most countries can claim to be democracies. Yet various scholars have raised doubts about the depth and quality of this democratization. Some have used the concept of "illiberal democracy" to convey their doubts about putting these new democracies in the same category as the old democracies.

One country that seems always to defy easy classification and that has persistently taxed the conceptual imagination of political scientists and others -- Winston Churchill's "riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma" -- is Russia. It is now considered an example of illiberal democracy. What are the characteristics of illiberal democracy? How does it help us understand Russian politics?

Defining Illiberal DemocracyDemocracy is a bundle of institutional and behavioral components, including regular competitive elections, full enfranchisement, free speech, an accessible and critical media, and freedom of association. Proponents of the concept of illiberal democracy strip basic liberties from the bundle. Democracy is conceived more minimally as the occurrence of competitive elections.

Fareed Zakaria explains the concept of illiberal democracy in his book The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad (2001). Liberty and democracy may go together in the West, he says, but they are not necessarily connected. Indeed, the curtailment of liberties may be popular and have the support of the majority of voters. He argues that, "democracy is flourishing; liberty is not." Reading Zakaria's argument brings to mind the old nineteenth-century liberal fear of a tyrannical majority and the subsequent intellectual effort to cordon off individual freedom from majority opinion and decision-making. Democracy is fragile, its self-regulating mechanism is often sluggish, and it is highly vulnerable to breakdown during the lag between repressive action and an effective critical response. Zakaria argues that Russia is democratic but also illiberal, pointing to Putin's "superpresidency" and restrictions on the media.

Let us see how well Zakaria's concept applies in the light of recent events in Russia. How is it that a constitution that provides for the separation and division of power and enumerates fundamental rights does not protect liberty? The 1993 constitution of the Russian Federation is a mixed or hybrid presidential-

parliamentary constitution, similar to the French constitution (also drafted in an atmosphere of coup and crisis). There is a dual executive with a directly elected president, who has to achieve 50 percent of the vote in one or two rounds of voting as necessary, and a prime minister.

The prime minister is chosen by the president and confirmed by the Duma, the lower house of the Russian bicameral parliament. Like the French president, the Russian president has the power to dissolve the lower house and call new elections. The Duma is directly elected using a German-style mixed-member proportional system of election. The upper house, the Federation Council, is composed of representatives of the federal regions and republics. The constitution provides for freedom of speech, a free media, and a constitutional court. There is a separation of powers and a division of powers, as well as a judicial branch with long-term if not lifetime judges.

In America we commonly associate these features of constitutional design with the protection of basic liberty within a democratic framework. In Russia this constitutional design produces democracy, but also "illiberalism." To understand what is happening we might be tempted to fall back on the sorry history of freedom in Russia, from czars to commissars. Are Russians in the grip of an endless winter of oppression? No doubt all of us are cursed with national character failings, but it seems a lazy piece of analysis to attribute Putin's Russia to some political permafrost, to some Siberia in the national soul. Instead, it is worth thinking about leadership, the decisions being made, and recalling the concept of power.

Sources of Power in RussiaWe can identify three major elements of power: coercion, incentives, and persuasion. (See W. Phillips Shively's Power and Choice: An Introduction to Political Science, 2003.) The coercive powers of the Russian state were on display immediately before the December 2003 legislative elections, with the arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the Yukos Oil executive. He was arrested on charges arising from his business dealings, but most commentary pointed to his support of political parties opposed to President Putin. The arrest apparently did not sit well with Alexander Voloshin, Putin's chief of staff (who resigned), nor with the current prime minister, Mikhail Kasyanov. Before that, in the fall of 2003, Putin's candidate for the presidency of Chechnya won the election after the withdrawal of rival candidates. Organizations that monitor human rights violations reported widespread killing, disappearances, and the use of torture by the Russian authorities in suppressing the insurgency in Chechnya. You would be forgiven for thinking that Putin's presidency just goes to show that you can take the man out of the KGB, but you cannot take the KGB out of the man.

Actually, the Putin administration is taking more and more men and women from the KGB (or the Federal Security Service, as it is now called). A recent analysis by Russian sociologist Olga Kryshtanovskaya finds that the siloviki

(security services personnel) represent almost one-third of top government officials, and over one-half of the president's closest advisers are former KGB. To compensate for the federal division of power, Putin has established seven large administrative districts run by appointed presidential representatives (prefects in France), five of whom are siloviki.

The use of coercive power is not unpopular and coincides with the recent good performance of the Russian economy. Putin's approval ratings are high. Putin won the presidential election in 2000 on the first round (electoral rules require a run-off if no candidate gets a majority), and he is likely to win reelection in 2004 with no difficulty. Voters dislike the rich businessmen or oligarchs like Khodorkovsky, fear Chechen terror, and respond positively to the incentive of the improving Russian economy. At the same time, government officials respond to financial incentives in the form of corrupt payments. Russia ranks as one of the more corrupt countries in the world, which reduces democratic accountability but does not appear to be a policy priority for the Putin government.

Political persuasion is a function of the competition among leadership groups and political parties and the resulting messages delivered by the media. In Russia, journalists themselves operate in a dangerous environment, attributable in part to organized crime and a high overall murder rate. Between 2000 and 2003, 13 journalists were killed in Russia. The major television networks are owned by the government or by Gazprom, the natural gas company in which the government has a sizable stake. One of the criticisms offered by international election monitors of the December 2003 Duma election was the media bias in favor of political parties supporting the government.

Putin's RoleAs imperious as General Charles De Gaulle, this former KGB officer also stands above the competition among the parties. President Putin is not a formal member of United Russia, the major political party supporting the president. The opposition parties most easily identified with liberal freedoms failed to make the electoral threshold, leaving the communists as the major opposition party. Even the communists only managed 13 percent of the vote, about half their 1999 total. The media in any political system have an important effect on political parties, but political parties are the source of policy alternatives and visions that constitute meaningful political discourse. The weakness of the parties and lack of media independence in Russia justify concern. The idea of illiberal democracy is useful in drawing attention to these issues; to the multiple components bundled in the concept of democracy; and to the observation that on occasion, and over some political terrain, there may be friction as these components rub against each other. Less useful is the implication that you can strip out liberty and keep democracy running. Somewhere there is a tipping point where the reduction of freedom so affects political competition that it moves an election-holding political system from illiberal to non-democracy, even if the majority

remain on board.

Neil J. Mitchell is a professor of political science at the University of New Mexico, where he served as chair of the department for eight years. He previously taught at Iowa State University and Grinnell College. Mitchell received his Ph.D. in political science from Indiana University in 1983. He has served as an AP Reader, AP test item contributor, a consultant on the AP Comparative Government & Politics course, and a reviewer for AP Central's Teachers' Resources area. His book, The Generous Corporation: A Political Analysis of Economic Power, (Yale University Press, 1989) was recently translated into Japanese (Tokyo: Dohyukan Publishing Co. Ltd., 2003). His new book, Agents of Atrocity, (Palgrave MacMillan) has a release date of July 2004.

Directions: visit Transparancy.org

Browse the articles on the main page. As of 1/17 there were two articles regarding Russia on the main page that may be of interest.

You can (and should) also enter Russia in the search box. Browse these articles as well.

Choose two articles for review. You should focus on articles that expand upon or serve as examples of Neil Mitchell’s article on Illiberal Democracy and Vladimir Putin's Russia above.

Provide:

1. Bibliographic entry for each article2. Brief summary of each article3. Analysis: Relationship to Mitchell’s article. How does the

article demonstrate the concept of “illiberal democracy?” 4. Has Putin’s Russia continued, moved away from, or deepened

the trend of “illiberal democracy since the publication of Mitchell’s article in 2003?” Provide examples from contemporary events in Russia.