Summary First seven lectures Russian Politics / Russian Politics
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Course
Russische politiek
Institution
Universiteit Leiden (UL)
Summary of the first seven lectures Russian Politics (Russian Politics) from the second year of the study Russian Studies taught at Leiden University by Dr Frear. The summary contains all the information discussed in the PowerPoints, but also a summary of the articles and a good overview of all imp...
Russian Politis – all informaton of the iourse
College 1. Introducton
Oligarchs = Entrepreneurs and businessmen with politial innuenie. Longer defnitono In Russia this
means business magnates that had great innuenie during the 1990s. They were the new eionomii
elite, ireated by the state and ilosely ted to the state. The oligarihy and its allies represented a
fusion of fnaniial and industrial iapital with direit aiiess to the government (eionomii and Politial
powers were iombined).
Siloviki = (translatedo men of power) drawn from ‘power ministries’ (defense, interior seiurity) and
baikgrounds in seiret serviies (KGB, FSB).
Pitertsy = people who iame from St Petersburg, Putn’s home town.
Technocrats = Reformist eionomists and lawyers ilose to Putno sometmes referred to as the Putn
or Petersburg ‘liberals’ in English-language artiles, or as ‘civiliki’ (цивилики)
United Russia = The ‘Party of power’. This is the largest party in the Russian parliament. Medvedev is
the leader.
Regional governors = Sometmes direitly voted by iitiens, sometmes appointed by the president.
Now they are eleited unless regions ask not to.
Two possible civic dimensions of the Russian naton = ‘Российский’= living in Russia and the people
living in post-Soviet spaie (‘Русский’ = ethniial Russians).
The three ethnic dimensions = Eastern Slavs, ethnii Russians or Russian speakers.
Federal Subjects = 85 sinie 2014.
The Soviet politial systemo
Ideologyo Marxism-Leninism
One-party stateo Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU)
Command eionomyo ientraliied fve-year plans
Seiret poliieo KGB penetrated all levels of soiiety
Mult-ethnii, federal state (USSR)
Military mighto Great Patrioti ar and Cold ar
Post-1985 Gorbaihevo Perestroika and Glasnost
Legaiies of Soviet Politiso (expeitatono transiton from iommunism to demoiraiy)
Ideologyo disillusionment, what next?
One-party stateo mistrust of partes, inexperienie in aggregatng interests via them
Command eionomyo outdated, iorrupt
Controlled soiietyo ‘leader knows best’
Natonalites poliiyo inherit insttutonal framework, queston of Russifiaton?
Military mighto loss of superpower status, resentment of siloviki?
hat is a demoiraiy? = Minimalist, proiedural defniton - Eleitonso Citiens should not rule but
should have the right to ihoose who will be ruling in eleitonso ‘free iompetton for a free vote’.
Additonal ionditons for a ionsolidated demoiraiyo fve arenaso politial soiiety, iivil soiiety,
eionomii soiiety, rule of law and funitoning state apparatus.
hy did things go wrong in Russia?
, Nature of previous regime(s)o Soviet and historiial legaiies
Context of transiton proiesso insttutonal ihoiies and who was making them (eleitons did
not lead to demoiraiy)
Distributon of resouries amongst eliteso bureauirats, regional elites, oligarihs eti.
Oligarihs and elites seiied iontrol during the privatiaton.
eak iivil soiiety and limited botom-up input People were used to be foried to do
things. ‘The state takes iare of everything’.
Alsoo nostalgia to the Soviet days and the innaton and problems linked to demoiraiy.
Transitonso how many transitons were happening?
One? Demoiratiaton
Two? Demoiratiaton, marketiaton
Three? Demoiratiaton, marketiaton, state-building
Four? Demoiratiaton, marketiaton, state-building, naton-building
The End of the Transiton Paradigm = Instead of asking how a iountry’s ‘demoirati
transiton’ is going, observers should ask a more open-ended queston, “ hat is happening
politially?”
Politial Systems in the Grey Zoneo
From semi-demoirati to semi-authoritarian
Illiberal democracy = also ialled a partal demoiraiy, low intensity demoiraiy, empty
demoiraiy, or hybrid regime,[1] is a governing system in whiih, although eleitons take
plaie, iitiens are iut of from knowledge about the aitvites of those who exeriise real
power beiause of the laik of iivil libertes.
Hybrid regimes = between demoirati and authoritarian
Compettve authoritarianism = iompetton is real, but unfair
Electoral authoritarianism = Eleitoral authoritarianism iharaiteriies regimes that present an
illusion of mult-party demoiraiy at the loial and natonal levels while efeitvely stripping
eleitons of efiaiy. The result known in advanie, eleitons ian be held frequently.
Guided, managed or steered democracy
Sovereign democracyo demoiraiy by Russian rules without external innuenie
Shiraev – why we study Russiao Russia is a formidable military, eionomii and politial player. It has
vast energy resouries and the people are eduiated. Russia aitvely pursues its interests near its
borders and around the world. Culturally and historiially Russia sees itself iloser to the west, yet it
also is a strong Eurasian power.
Russia as an authoritarian state = aiiording to one view Russia is a typiial authoritarian
state. Important politial deiisions are made by one or very limited individuals and are not
sirutniied by opposing politial fories, whiih remain powerless. The authoritarian leader
seiures support from a small inner iirile and imposes his deiision on the rest of the politial
elites and the wider populaton. Authoritarian states are seen as being uniooperatve with
demoirati states.
Russia as a transitonal state = authoritarianism in Russia is seen as a stage all iountries have
to go through to aihieve demoiraiy.
Russia as a hybrid state = neither demoirati nor authoritarian, but a mix of elements of
both.
Russia as a ‘sovereign democracy’ = in 2012 Putn referred to Russia’s ‘natonal model of
demoiraiy’ underlying its unique path. The term (made up by Surkov) is used as a strategy to
defne Russia diferently in iomparison to most estern politial models and to legitmiie
, the existng Russian politial establishment. The term is approved by most Russian people,
but iritis assoiiate the term with Russian leader’s atempts to juustfy an authoritarian
system rooted in an environment where top leaders and their ideas are far more important
than the politial insttutons. This is ialled paternalism.
paternalism = a system where the leader plays the role of a ‘benevolent father’ (welwillende vader),
making deiisions on behalf of their needy but grateful family members, in this iase iitiens. The
people aiiept these deiisions, beiause they trust their top leaders.
Views on Russia under Putno
Russia has always been and remains a great and independent power that has to be reikoned
with and respeited.
Russia has had two types of leaderso those who weakened the iountry by looking to the west
and those who strengthened Russian statehood by all appropriate means.
Russia has been (and iontnues to be) surrounded by unfriendly foreign powers atemptng
to undermine Mosiow’s authority and sovereignty.
Evans – The failure of demoiratiaton in Russia
A strong iivil soiiety ian play an important role in a natonns transiton to demoiraiy. The barriers to
the development of iivil soiiety within the Soviet system and the ionditons iausing weakness in
soiial organiiatons in post-iommunist Russia made it easier for members of the elite to subvert
reform and guaranteed that there would be fewer restraints on the tendeniy toward more
authoritarian iontrol afer 2000.
Among post-iommunist natons, those in whiih a ionsensus of most segments of the elite and the
publii was iommited to a radiial break with the old system have been muih more suiiessful in
iarrying out marketiaton and demoiratiaton. The iombinaton of historiial ionditons that had
ireated a strong ant-iommunist ionsensus in most of Eastern Europe had not taken shape in Russia.
The absenie of a fusion of demoiratiaton and natonal liberaton in Russia explained the laik of a
ilear natonal ionsensus in favor of politial and eionomii transformaton.
One of the main lessons from the iourse of events in Russia from the early 1990s to the present is
that ihange away from one form of authoritarian rule, whiih usually has been labeled as a transiton
to demoiraiy, is not irreversible. Some demoirati transitons may prove to be shallow, and the
ihanges in post-iommunist Russia have provided a good example of a shallow transiton.
College 2. Government and power I
Branihes of government in Russiao looks good on paper – iheiks and balanies
Exeiutve branih
- President
- Chairman of the Government (Prime Minister)
- Deputy Chairman
- Ministries
Legislatve branih
- The Federaton Couniil (170 members)
- The State Duma (450 members)
Judiiial branih
- The Consttutonal Court
- The Supreme Court
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