Class notes
Lecture notes Putin's Russia (week 1 to 5)
- Course
- Institution
Lecture notes from the course Putin's Russia (week 1 to 5). I followed this course as an elective in the programme European Studies (third year)
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
ae94
Reviews received
Content preview
Putin’s Russia:Lecture: Tuesday 13-15
Seminar: Thursday, 11-13
Grading:
- 3 Reading Responses, to be submitted during the first four weeks -> 50% of grade.
- Annotated Bibliography -> 10% of grade
- Term Paper -> 40% of grade
—————————————————————
Week 1: What is the Russian Federation?
Soviet nationality policies under Lenin and Stalin
1920s: korenizatsiia (“enrooting”)
Terry Martin, “The Affirmative Action Empire”.
When the USSR fell apart, the outer borders of the USSR elapsed, but the borders between the individual
Union Republics largely remained the same: which means it fell apart, but the inner boundaries remained.
15 Republics of the Soviet Union suddenly became independent. The Soviet Union was cut in two territories:
some of these territories are called “Republics” while other territories are called “oblasts” (regions). Thus,
even in the USSR, Russia was not a unitary unit, but it fell into different territories which were named after
the minority groups living there.
Lenin and Stalin created homelands for the national republics, so that they could be integrated into the
Soviet Union and so that they would not become enemies of the Soviet state (-> affirmative action).
What is the Russian Federation?
85 federal subjects (sub-national units):
- 22 republics
- 46 oblast’s (regions)
- 9 krais (smaller regions)
- 3 federal cities (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sevastopol [disputed])
- 4 autonomous okrugs (‘circles’)
- 1 autonomous oblast
,So: Russia is a mosaic of smaller and bigger units.
From Russia’s 85 federal subjects, 22 have the status of a republic:
North Caucasus:
(1) Adygeya, (9) Karachay-Cherkessia, (8) Kalmykia, (6) Ingushetia, (20) Chechnya, (5) Dagestan,
(7) Kabardino-Balkaria, (15) North Ossetia.
Volga-Urals:
(13) Mordovia, (21) Chuvashia, (12) Mari-El, (16) Tatarstan, (18) Udmutia, (3) Bashkortostan.
North: (10) Karelia, (11) Komi.
Asia: (2) Altai, (19) Khakassia, (17) Tuva, (4) Buriatiia, (14) Sakha/Yakutia.
NEW/disputed: (22) Crimea (excl. Sevastopol).
Political system:
President (elected) appoints Prime Minister, who forms a government, which is confirmed by the
State Duma (elected).
Federation Council (“Senate”) State Duma (lower house)
Two deputies from each of the 85 Blue: United Russia (341 seats)
Subnational units (“federal subjects”) of the Red: Communist Party (43)
Russian Federation, all “officially neutral”. Blue right: Liberal Democratic Party (40)
- One appointed by the governor Orange: A Just Russia (22)
- One selected by the regional parliament Rodina: 1
- Confirmed by President Civic Platform: 1
So: Democratic system! (although underlying corruption…)
Additional structure:
—> Security Council of the Russian Federation:
President Putin = chairman
Medvedev = deputy chairman
Nikolai Patrushev (secretary of Security Council) [was FSB director 1999-2018]
,In the Security Council real decisions are made: it is the “big boss” of Russia.
Other permanent members Security Council:
Mikhail Mishustin (prime minister)
Anton Vaino (manager of the Presidential Administration)
Valentina Matvienko (chairwomen Federation Council)
Viacheslav Voldoen (Chairman State Duma)
Sergei Shoigu (Minister of Defense)
Sergei Lavrov (Minister of Foreign Affairs)
Vladimir Kolokoltsev (Minister Internal Affairs)
Alexander Bortnikov (Director Federal Security Service)
Sergei Naryshkin (Director Foreign Intelligence Service)
Viktor Zolotov (Director National Guard)
Not permanent members:
Other ministers, military, prosecutor, mayors, and Presidential Envoys of the 8 federal districts.
So: you have the constitutional side (two chambers of the Parliament), but in the Security Council you have
the real powerful people.
Another leading structure:
State Council of the Russian Federation:
(since 2001 as consultative body of the President; since 2020 with enlarged authorities)
President (chairman)
Chairmen (speakers) of Senate and of Duma
Presidential Envoys of 8 Presidential Regions
Governors of the RF units
Chairmen of Duma factions
{{-> the State Council reaches out to the regions and the parties.}}
Presidential elections:
- Putin March 2000: 53%
- Putin March 2004: 71%
- Medvedev March 2008: 70,3%
- Putin March 2012: 63,6%
, - Putin March 2018: 76, 69%
“Party of Power”:
• Edinstvo (Unity), created by Yeltsin in Sept. 1999.
(Medved’ (‘Bear”: Mezhregonalnoe Dvizhenie “Edinstvo”; Interregional movement “Unity”).
Set up to contain Fatherland-All Russia (Primakov, Luzhkov, Iakovlev).
• Duma Elections 1999
- Unity 23,3%
- Communists 24,3%
- Fatherland-All Russia 13,3%
- Union of Right Forces 8,5%
- Zhirinovsky Liberal-democratic Party of Russia 6%
- Yabloko Liberals 5,93%
—> April 2001: the two merged into Edinaia Rossia (->United Russia)
2007 Duma elections:
United Russia 64,3%
Communists 11,7%
Zhirinovsky 8,1%
Just Russia 7,7%
…
Yabloko 1.59%
2011 Duma elections:
United Russia 52,9%
Communists 20,5%
Just Russia 14,2%
Zhirinovsky 12,45%
…
Yabloko 1,5%
September 2016 Duma elections:
United Russia 54.20 (plus 4.87) - 343 seats of 450
Communists 13.34 (down 5.85) - 42 seats
LDPR Zhirinovsky 13.16 (up 1.46)
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller ae94. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $11.35. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
67096 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now