Russia-Sovereignty,

Authority, and Power

AP COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT
Fall and Rise

 From 1945 to 1991 the world’s political stages was dominated by the Soviet
Union and the United States
 It was in 1991 when the Communist Russia suddenly collapsed
 The Russian Federation was formed after the Soviet Unions satellite nations broke
away from the union
 Boris Yeltsin, a former member of the Soviet Politiburo, became the first president of
the Russian Federation
Presidential

 Yeltsin soon instituted massive reforms known as “shock therapy”

 These reforms pushed the Russian Federation towards democracy and a free market
economy
 Yeltsin was often ill or drunk, and because of this his rule was uneven and at times
authoritarian
 Because of his illness, his family took over the government and ran it similar to an
oligarchy
 Political favors and economic and political corruption ensued
 In 1993 a constitution was instituted and free and fair elections followed
Putin

 In 2000 and then again in 2004 Vladimir Putin was elected

 Putin aggressively sought to limit the power of the oligarchy established under
Yeltsin’s regime
 Putin has also attempted to recentralize much of the power that was spread out after
the fall of the Soviet Union
 Putin did step down after his two terms were over but has just been recently
reelected as President of Russia after sitting out one term
Sovereignty, Authority, and Power

 Historically, political legitimacy has been based on strong, autocratic rule.

 Early Russian history is dominated by tsars and then moves to the dictatorships of the
20th century
 For much of the 20th Century, political power centered in the Politburo of the
communist party
 The individuals who were part of the Politburo climbed the ranks through
nomenklatura, or an ordered path from local party soviets to the “commanding
heights” of leadership
Legitimacy

 Under communist rules, Marxism-Leninism provided the legitimacy base for the
party
 The central idea to the Soviet Unions rule was Democratic centralism, or the rule of
few for the benefit of the many.
 Stalinism was the reality of rule throughout Russia’s Communist history
 Stalinism revolved around totalitarianism Stalinism was centered on invasive policies
built around the will of on strong leader
 In reality, the government under Stalin was not based on communism, but on totalitarianism
 The reforms of Nikita Khrushchev and Mikhail Gorbachev ultimately led to the
downfall of the Soviet Union
 Both men tried to lessen the amount of power that the central government contained
Legitimacy

 The Constitution of 1993 provided for a strong president

 The presidents power is checked by popular election and by the lower house of the
legislature called the Duma
 The power of the constitution has been challenged a number of times
 Yeltsin’s oligarchy and conflict with the Duma
 Attempted coups
 Lack of faith from the people
 The power of the Constitution was solidified with the successful transition of
power between Yeltsin and Putin
Historical Influences on Political
Traditions
 Absolute, Centralized Rule-
 Russia has a long history of absolute and centralized rule.
 Large portions of Russia were conquered by the Huns, Vikings, and Mongols.
 Tsars lead Russia with complete control for centuries
 The 20th century was dominated by Communist rule
 Russia has a large amount of cultural heterogeneity-
 The expansion of cultural heterogeneity was aided by the rapid expansion of territory
controlled by Russia
 There are a large number of ethnicities and cultures that are all part of the Russian state
Historical Influences on Political
Traditions
 Slavophile v Westernizer
 There is a long history of division between western culture and Slavic culture
 For a large part of Russian history, they were very isolated from the west
 Rulers such as Tsar Peter the Great and Catherine the Great took on western ideas that
benefited the country, while still protecting Slavic roots and history
 Tsar Peter the Great used a western model to modernize Russia and built a stronger army, navy,
and infrastructure. He also built St. Petersburg to be a “window to the west”
 Revolutions of the 20th Century-
 The autocratic rule of the Tsars ended in 1917 when the Bolshevik revolution took place
 This was the beginning of the implementation of a Communist form of government
 In 1991, the U.S.S.R. dissolved and 15 new independent nations were created from the fall of the
government
Political Culture

 Geographic Setting-
 Russia is the largest country in the world and encompasses many different ethnicities and
climates.
 One of the weaknesses of Russia through is their lack of access to a warm-water port.
 Russia does have access to many natural resources such as natural gas, oil, and timber.
 Russia’s geographic setting set them apart from the rest of Europe and influence their view of the
Renaissance, Reformation, Scientific Revolution, and Enlightenment.
 Russian history is largely based on Statism, while western society is based upon strong civil society

 Equality of Result
 Under communist rule, the government valued equality of result rather than equality of
opportunity.
 Under this ideology, everyone within society should be equal and this hinders the idea of capitalism
Political Culture

 Skepticism about Power-

 Russia has a history of being skeptical about government power
 This was displayed in strong fashion when Mikhail Gorbachev instituted the policy of glasnost
 Glasnost allowed for citizens to openly criticize the government for the first time under
communist rule
 Recent polls have showed that citizens have little citizens have little trust in the
government, but surprisingly has a very strong opinion about Vladimir Putin.
 This support has slipped from it’s 2008 high of 90%, but still hovers above 60%
 The Importance of Nationality-
 Despite a long history cultural heterogeneity, people still tend to categorize others based
upon their nationality and discriminate against group based on long-held sterotypes