ROLLON, EdelTABALINGCOS, NinaTANCONGCO, Miguel

AREA: 17 million sq. km. (6.5 million sq. mi.)CITIES:CAPITAL: Moscow (10.4 million)St. Petersburg (4.6 million)Novosibirsk (1.4 million)Nizhniy Novgorod (1.3 million)TERRAIN: Broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains (Caucasus range) along southern borders.CLIMATE: Northern continental.

NATIONALITY NOUN AND ADJECTIVE: Russian(s).POPULATION: 142.9 million.ETHNIC GROUPS: Russian, Tatar, Ukrainian, Bashkir, Chuvash, other.RELIGION: Russian Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, other.LANGUAGE: Russian (official),140+ languages & dialects.LITERACY: 99.4%LIFE EXPECTANCY: 63.03 years (Men); 74.87 years (Women)WORK FORCE: 75.49 million.

GDP: $1.477 trillion.NATURAL RESOURCES: Petroleum, natural gas, timber, furs, precious and nonferrous metals.AGRICULTURE PRODUCTS: Grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, meat, dairy products.INDUSTRY TYPES: Automobiles, trucks, trains, agricultural equipment, advanced aircraft, aerospace, machine and equipment products; mining and extractive industry; medical and scientific instruments; construction equipment.MAJOR MARKETS: EU, CIS, China, Japan.MAJOR PARTNERS: EU, CIS, Japan, China, U.S.

NORTHERN BORDERS: Arctic Ocean.EASTERN BORDERS: Bering Sea, Sea of Okhotsk.SOUTHERN BORDERS: North Korea, China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and the Black Sea.WESTERN BORDERS: Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Norway.KALININGRAD OBLAST (region) EXCLAVE: Poland, and Lithuania.

TyrannyEastern Orthodox from ConstantinopleSlavic Language with a Cyrillic Alphabet Tatar (Mongols) Conquest (13th century)TsarAutocracy: absolute rule of one person in a centralized state.

Ivan the Terrible (1530-1584)Territorial expansion by the sword.Absolutism: royal dictatorship in which king amasses all power.Caesaropapism: combining the top civil ruler with the top spiritual ruler as Russias tsars (caesar and pope).Peter I (1682-1725)Forced modernization in Russia.A country that missed out on (Western) European development.

Westernizers: copy the West.For constitutional monarchy to limit tsars power.The liberal reformers.Slavophiles: develop without the West.Cultivate own roots and develop by themselves.The conservative authoritarians.Intelligentsia: the educated class.Communism: economic theories of Marx combined with organization of Lenin.Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov Lenin

Bolshevik (majority) Soviet Communist party; Menshevik (minority) moderate.Russo-Japanese WarTsar Nicholas IIimportant reforms: freedom of speech, press, and assembly and the democratic election of aDuma (Russias national parliament)1905 October RevolutionWorld War ISoviet: council.

War Communism: temporary strict socialism in Russia (1918-1921).New Economic Policy (NEP): Lenins approach to allowing private activity (1921-1928).Yosif Vissarionovich Djugashvili (Joseph Stalin)Five-Year Plan: Stalins version of forced modernization in 1928.Communist Party of the Soviet Union gensek.purges

Cold War: period of armed tension and competition between the United States and the Soviet Union (approx. 1947-1989)Mikhail Gorbachev: politburo (Communist political bureau) member turned party leader and then 1985 General Secretary of the CPSU who carried out a reform program by calling out for political democratization through the concept ofGlasnost (openness): the policy of media openness.pravovoe gosudarstvo (law-governed state): state power would be subordinate to the law.

Junta Coup against the government (August 1991) led toCommunisms Fall and USSRs Seceded Republics:East Slavic States (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine)Baltic States^ (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania)South Caucasian States (Armenia, Azerbaijan*, Georgia)Central Asian States* (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan)Romanian State (Moldova)^Not in the Commonwealth of Independent States* Predominantly Muslim

Boris Yeltsin: Gorbachevs rival who won election as Chairman of the Russian Supreme Soviet (June 1990), eventually becoming Russias first President (1991).Used economic reforms and privatization to prevent reversion to state socialism (1992).Adopted constitutional amendments, parliamentary dissolution and elections (1993).

Boris Yeltsin resigned being president, turning over his powers (1999) to then prime minister Vladimir Putin.The political regime changed from communism to democracy which, over the course of Russias more recent events, actually brought more misery than progress because the government maintained the stability of their State institutions.Russia seeks unity in political, economic, social, and cultural levels.

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin: KGB bureaucrat later turned President who successfully maintained and strengthened authoritarian rule.St. Petersburgs Vice Mayor (1994)Supervisor at Kremlin (1998)Boris Yeltsins Prime Minister (1999)Acting President (1999)President by election (2000)KompromatKGB: Committee on State Security; Russias security/secret police.

International Relations: Integrate itself into the international system economically and politically more deeply. Economy: Engage in a course of high and self-sustaining economic growth through the discipline of the market and incentives for investment. Politics: Rebuild the power of the central government by tightening administrative discipline in Russia.

GOVERNMENT TYPE:Federation.DATE OF INDEPENDENCE:August 24, 1991.DATE OF LATEST CONSTITUTION:December 12, 1993.SUFFRAGE:Universal at 18 years.

MAJOR: 7 huge regions set up by Putin in 2000, overseen by his hand-picked super-governorsLESSER: 83 federal subjects (members of the Federation)21 republics, major non-Russian nationals homelands9 krais (territories)46 oblasts (provinces), Russian populated2 federal cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg1 autonomous oblast4 autonomous okrugs (districts), special status oblast/kraiComplex and confusing.

CENTRAL GOVERNMENT AND THE REGIONSRebuilding national community in post-Soviet Russia has been helped by its thousand-year history of statehood.From a multinational empire to a Federal Union of (Soviet) Socialist RepublicsInsistence to the ethnic groups to adhere to Russian culture.

CENTRAL GOVERNMENT AND THE REGIONSRepublics, autonomous districts and the autonomous oblast give certain political rights to populations living in territories with significant ethnic minorities.Oblasts and krais are simply administrative subdivisions with no special constitutional status.Putins merging small ethnic units.Facing personal dictatorships.

CENTRAL GOVERNMENT AND THE REGIONSSpecial status security guarded by the ethnic republics.Chechen Republic (Chechnya): mountainous region of the North Caucasus between the Black & Caspian Seas.Tatar Republic: The second of two ethnic republics that attempted independence from Russia (1990-1992).Beslan Tragedy (North Ossetia, Chechnya; September 2004)

CENTRAL GOVERNMENT AND THE REGIONSThe political system allows considerable room for the arbitrary exercise of power and even the evisceration of democracy.Expansive use of presidential powers from both Yeltsin and Putin.The web of political institutions surrounding formal constitutional rules strongly shapes the way officeholders wield power.Delegative democracy and oligarchy.Steady restoration of authoritarian rule.

RUSSIAN RULERS SINCE 1917:Vladimir Lenin (1917-1924)Joseph V. Stalin (1924-1953)Nikita S. Khrushchev (1953-1964)Leonid I. Brezhnev (1964-1982)Yuri V. Andropov (1982-1984)Konstantin U. Chernenko (1984-1985)Mikhail S. Gorbachev (1985-1991)Boris Yeltsin (1991-1999)Vladimir Putin (2000-2012)Dmitriy Medvedev (2012- )

EXECUTIVE BRANCH:CHIEF OF STATE: President Dmitriy Anatolyevich MEDVEDEV-appoints the Prime Minister as head of government; issues decrees with the force of law (may not supersede legislation).-Four-year term; two-term limit.Head of StateGuarantor of the ConstitutionCommander-in-ChiefFederal and Regional Government SupervisorClearance Provider for Political UndertakingsSecurity Council and State Council

EXECUTIVE BRANCH:HEAD OF GOVERNMENT: Premier Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTINhead; deals with economic and social policy and power ministry (concerns of coercion, law enforcement, and state security)NOT directly determined by the party composition of the parliament.members: Career Managers and Administrators over Party Politicians (loyalty, competence, and strength over popularity)

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH: PARLIAMENTARY; Federal Assembly approves bills to become laws

UPPER HOUSE: Federation Council (federal regions; party system/structures over constitutional rules)

LOWER HOUSE: State Duma (single-member district & party-list proportion)

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH:State Duma Member Elections:1st 225/450: single-member districts2nd 225/450: party listsUnited Russia: very politically active pro-Putin party holding two-thirds of the seats in the Duma.Fed. Council: (89 units x 2 representatives)Approves presidential nominees for high courts, (Supreme Court and Constitutional Court) presidential decrees (martial law, state of emergency), and legislations.

JUDICIARY BRANCH:Constitutional CourtSupreme CourtSupreme Court of ArbitrationOffice of Procurator General

THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURTNineteen members are nominated by the President but are subject to confirmation by the Council of the Federation.Provided for judicial review.Consistently defended the rights of individual defendants in the criminal justice system.Upheld the sovereignty of federal law over the rights of the constituent territories of the federation.

ALL POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES IN RUSSIA THROUGHOUT HISTORY:LeftistCommunistSocialistLiberal / DemocraticCentristNationalist (both left and right)Parties of Power patronage parties with strong official sponsorship; both state officials and voters enjoy favor of power-holding.

POLITICAL PARTIES:UNITED RUSSIA (pro-Putin; party of power)THE COMMUNIST PARTY (KPRF; socialist)THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY (LDPR; right nationalist)JUST RUSSIAYABLOKO (liberal/democratic)PATRIOTS OF RUSSIA / MOTHERLAND (left nationalist)RIGHT CAUSE PARTY / UNION OF RIGHT-WING FORCES (reformist)

INTEREST GROUPS: (all ASSOCIATIONAL groups)THE RUSSIAN UNION OF INDUSTRIALISTS AND ENTREPRENEURS (RUIE)THE LEAGUE OF COMMITTEE OF SOLDIERS MOTHERSFEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT TRADE UNIONS OF RUSSIA (FITUR)

Communist Party in CommandLess-Important State StructureA Centralized Federal SystemA Gigantic BureaucracyCentral Economic PlanningA Commonwealth of Independent States

New Constitution:A Strong PresidentA Prime MinisterA Federal SystemA Bicameral ParliamentA Proportional Electoral SystemA Constitutional CourtA Party System under Construction

Russia is a work in progress with much potential for achieving true democracy if only its people will push themselves for it.

RUSSIA POST-SOVIET PERIOD:Autocratic rule.Rapid but uneven progress of educational and living standards in the 20th century.Rising exposure to Western standards of political life.A sturdy core of commitment to democratic values accompanied by pronounced disillusionment with the way democratization and market reforms have worked out in the country.

Institutions (From most to least trusted):Former President Putin (53%)Army; Governor of Region (34%)Television (29%)Federal Security Service (FSB) (26%)Newspapers (25%)Constitutional Court (24%)Police (15%)SMD representative (11%)Directors of industrial enterprises; Duma members (8%)Bankers & Financiers; Parties (6%)

Institutions (From most to least influential):Former President Putin (79%)Bankers & Financiers; Parties (59%)Governor of Region (54%)Television (43%)Federal Security Service (FSB) (42%)Army (38%)Directors of industrial enterprises; Duma members (36%)Newspapers (33%)Constitutional Court (29%)Police (28%)SMD representative (23%)

Democratic Freedom vs. Guaranteed Income:

If state guarantees to me a normal wage and decent pension, I am prepared to give up freedom of speech and the right to travel freely abroad.

Agree26%Agree > Disagree17%Agree < Disagree23%Disagree25%

There is extensive support for democratic institutions and processes when people see them as for their rights.Unpopular minorities gets less support from extending rights.People most exposed to modern civilizations influence are most likely to support democratic values.

Perestroika (restructuring): the policy or practice of reforming the economic and political system, practiced in the 1980s under Mikhail Gorbachev.Democratization and economic liberalization became associated with the breakdown of social and economic order since the late 1980s. Democracy seems more unattainable despite it actually being valued for rights and freedoms.

Both nostalgia for the old order and aspirations for a better future set standards by which people judge the current regime harshly.Strangely, Russians ascribe the greatest power to some of the institutions in which they have the lowest confidence.President Putin gets as much confidence as he has influence over the country.Russians prize their right to criticize their authorities.

Political indoctrination and propaganda (politically controlled)The way in which a society organizes its production determines the structure of values and beliefs prevalent in the society.The ruling class in each society determines the basic ideology of the society.Commonwealth of Independent StatesContradictory forces express both aspirations and attitudes to the real modernization of Russia.

Democratic Freedoms vs. Economic SecurityShaping Factors:Succession of GenerationsRising Educational LevelsUrbanization

Idealistic: democracy (freedoms and rights)Skeptical: actual performance/outcome of politics in Russia

Equality of Opportunity vs. Equality of Results

Citizens take part in public life influencing the quality of government.Direct: voting, party work, cause organization, demonstrations, and lobbying.Indirect: membership in civic groups and voluntary associations.Levels of participation across groups in the population very with differences in resources, opportunities, and motivations.Varies across groups in the population with differences in resources, opportunities and motivations.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL CAPITALParticipation in civic life builds social capitalreciprocal bonds of trust and obligation among citizens that facilitate collective action.De Tocquevilles time part of democracyRobert Putman participation in civic life builds social capital - reciprocal bonds of trust and obligation among citizens that facilitate collective action.Capitalism & democratic government relies on peoples ability to cooperate for mutual benefit

THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL CAPITAL (RUSSIA)The gap between state and society still exists today in Russias attitudes and behavior.Futility, skepticism, and disbelief in Russian politics.Generally passive to withdrawn participation even in major apolitical institutions.Russians are still socially involved; just simply not in their own politics.

Chart1

0.91

0.04

0.02

0.005

percentage

Sheet1

percentage

No paticipation91%

Sposts & recreation group4%

Housing bloc, neighborhood-bloc & cultural group2%

political party1%

To update the chart, enter data into this table. The data is automatically saved in the chart.

ParliamentaryPresidential

Chart1

63.71

55.67

62.33

64.73

50

%

Year

Sheet1

Year%

200763.71

200355.67

199962.33

199564.73

199350

To update the chart, enter data into this table. The data is automatically saved in the chart.

Chart1

69.71

64.39

68.64

68.88

74.66

Column1

Sheet1

YearColumn1

200869.71

200464.39

200068.64

199668.88

199174.66

To update the chart, enter data into this table. The data is automatically saved in the chart.

ELITE RECRUITMENTThe institutional processes in a society by which people gain access to positions of influence and responsibility.Closely tied to political participation: taking on leadership roles, learn civic skills (organization and persuasion), develop networks of friends and supporters, and become interested in pursuing political careers.

ELITE RECRUITMENT (RUSSIA)FormalizedSponsored Organizationsnomenklatura (nomenclature): the system for recruiting, training, and appointing individuals for positions of leadership and responsibility in the regime.Ruling class in Soviet society fall under this system.

The Mask of LegitimacyThe Illusion of IdeologyThe Rediscovery of Civil SocietyNatural Egalitarians?Russian RacismGaps in Philosophy, Morality, Economy, and Lawfulness

A Culture of InsecurityRussian Paranoia/Norm

BETWEEN STATISM AND PLURALISM:Tens of thousands of NGOsodd for a Communist society.Still reflecting the powerful impact of state control over society; history showed a regulation of interests, restricted to those of the States.Glasnost stimulated an explosion of political expression, prompting groups to form and make political demands and participate in elections.

BETWEEN STATISM AND PLURALISM:Monopoly to market economy transition opened up free expression of diverse interests, awakening Russias society to common ground and inciting more political openness.Pluralism over corporatism.

1. THE RUSSIAN UNION OF INDUSTRIALISTS AND ENTREPRENEURS (RUIE) - single-most powerful organized interest group formed by both the old state industrial firms and new financial-industrial conglomerates headed by oligarchs.Lobbying efforts directed to win the states continued support towards industrial firms and transition to market economyYukos incident affected the groups relationship with Putin

2. THE LEAGUE OF COMMITTEE OF SOLDIERS MOTHERSFormed during the glasnost period by approx. 300 women who rallied in MoscowCentered on the problems of military serviceBecame one of the most sizeable and respected civic groupHostilities in Chechnya caused the group to provide a new set of activitiesIndependent of the government

3. FEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT TRADE UNIONS OF RUSSIA (FITUR)Succeeded the official trade union federation the RUIE during Soviet eraLargest trade union federation in RussiaUtilized inherited valuable real estate assets from predecessor organizationIllustrates a clientelistic relationship with political authorities

NEW SECTORS OF INTEREST

YeltsinV.S.Putin-Politicization often took in forms of corruption which includes bribing parliament deputies and government officials.-collective action done by business and other sectors of interest-more open in negotiating policy details -interest groups grew more dependent on the goodwill of the president for access-organizations demand through the mass media, the parliament, and the government-policy- making again became more centralized

Political parties are the quintessential structure for generalizing various demands of the population.Frequently associated with particular politicians personality rather than specific ideological stancesOrganized more around patronage instead of mobilizing support for the achievement of programmatic goalsDemocratic, nationalist or communist ideologyParty of power patronage parties with strong official sponsorship (United Russia)Presidential system

ELECTIONS AND PARTY DEVELOPMENT1989 & 19901993 & 199519961999PUTIN AND THE 2000 PRESIDENTIAL RACE2003 & 2004

THE LAW-GOVERNED STATE1. THE PROCURACY2. THE JUDICIARY3. THE BAR4. CONSTITUTIONAL ADJUDICATION

OBSTACLES TO THE RULE OF LAWAbuse of legal institutions by the political authorities and endemic corruption in state and society.Security police autonomy: police harassment and criminal prosecutionCivil action: bankruptcy proceedingsCORRUPTION - relatively widespreadBriberyOrganized crimesUnchanged expectations on State politics

DUAL TRANSITIONRussias political and economic remake post-communism.

Democracy still carries a price to paythat which may not always be realistically met by few countries which is what Russia had to learn.

1. STABILIZATION2. FROM COMMUNISM TO CAPITALISM3. PRIVATIZATION4. CONSEQUENCES OF PRIVATIZATION5. SOCIAL CONDITIONS

Why did the Soviet Union collapse?How can Russia reform?Why does Russia want to and should it recover the lost republics (the near abroad)?Which ideology will Russia subscribe to best?Why did shock therapy work in Poland but not in Russia?What is the matter with Chechnya?

The importance of international integration.Western States (America and Europe)World Trade Organization critical for the economy.Trade and investments.Existence of political resistance remains in few but key issues (Chechnya).Acknowledgement of its own interdependence.The end of communism made it easier to start making and developing relations.

COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATESEAST SLAVIC STATESSOUTH CAUCASIAN STATESCENTRAL ASIAN STATESBALTIC STATESWEST SLAVIC STATESSTATES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

UNITED STATESPHILIPPINES

UNITED KINGDOMFRANCEGERMANYJAPANCHINAMEXICOBRAZILEGYPTINDIANIGERIAIRAN

Almond, G. A., et al. (2006). Comparative politics today: A world view (8th Edition). New York: Pearson/Longman.Roskin, M. G. (2007). Countries and concepts: Politics, geography, culture (9th Edition). New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3183.htmhttps://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rs.htmlwww.wordreference.com

Source: New Russian Barometer X. Nationwide survey 17 June 3 July 2001. N=2000. Figures represent percentage of respondents giving each institution a rating of at least 5 on a 7-point scale. Cited in Richard Rose and Neil Munro, Elections without order: Russias challenge to Vladimir Putin. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), p. 226.Note: Question: To what extent do you trust each of these institutions to look after your interests?Question: How much influence do you think each of the following groups has on Russian life today?*Source: New Russian Barometer X. Nationwide survey 17 June 3 July 2001. N=2000. Figures represent percentage of respondents giving each institution a rating of at least 5 on a 7-point scale. Cited in Richard Rose and Neil Munro, Elections without order: Russias challenge to Vladimir Putin. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), p. 226.Note: Question: To what extent do you trust each of these institutions to look after your interests?Question: How much influence do you think each of the following groups has on Russian life today?*Source: New Russian Barometer VII. Nationwide survey 6 March 13 April 1998. N=1904. Cited in Richard Rose and Neil Munro, Elections without order: Russias challenge to Vladimir Putin. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002).Note: Question: [Do you agree] with the following opinion: If state guarantees to me a normal wage and decent pension, I am prepared to give up freedom of speech and the right to travel freely abroad. ?*Source: Institute for democracy and electoral assistance (http://www.idea.int/vt/country_view.cfm?CountryCode=RU)*Source: Institute for democracy and electoral assistance (http://www.idea.int/vt/country_view.cfm?CountryCode=RU)*