Midterm Study Guide - Summary Government And Politics Of Russia PDF

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Midterm Study guide with the main points form some of the assigned readings, lectures, and presentations....

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Russian Politics: 2366 - Midterm Study Guide What is Communism? - Utopian idea of idealistic society Marx, Engels, and Lenin - ideas and principles on how to develop a socialist state; Communist system was one of the most politicized systems the world has seen; “ The starting point is the undivided political power of the ruling party, the interpenetration of the part y and the state , and the suppression of all forces that depart from or oppose the party's policy." For communists everything was politic s an d ha d t o b e imbue d wit h Marxism-Leninism, their official ideology . The essence o f communism became the dictatorship by a hierarchical Communist Party”. A. Aslund (2002): “… the essence of Communism was to free the Communist party and the state from al l possible constraints . Checks and balances were intentionally eliminated . The communists ' aim was to render the transition to socialism irreversible.” Karl Marx - formulated the most fundamental socialist ideas - thought of history in stages of development; did not focus on the individuals but on classes: “…aspired to the social emancipation of modern, but exploited, working class”. Marx was inclined towards modern and favored certain economic trends 1. Dictatorship of proletariat - working class was supposed to take over from bourgeoisie on the new stage of development. However, bourgeoisie would not give up their power. Marx and Engels concluded that a proletarian revolution should terminate their power bc bourgeoisie democracy is not a real democracy => The authors drew the paradoxical conclusion that a dictatorship would be more democratic , because then "the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all" (p. 105) 2. Nationalization of means of production - elimination of the exploitation of men by men to alleviate the alienation of modern factory workers from the means of production. Marx and Engels's key demand was that private ownership of land and the means of production be abolished and replaced by state or collective ownership. Because capitalists had accumulated their ownership through the exploitation o f others' labor, their property should be confiscated without compensation. Mass nationalization of everything but personal property was a requirement. Labor theory of value - market value of good did not represent the real value. The real value was the work put into the good. Productive vs non-productive services; the socialist concept of national income excluded non-productive services => anything but material production was to be neglected but communists. So the communist thought that the market formation of prices was unjust. Centralized planning (Gosplan) - “ Capitalist production was perceived a s not only exploitive but wasteful , irrational , and speculative”. Large investments were undertaken but not used, while the savings rate and ensuing investments were low, limiting growth.  Higher investment would create more jobs and a higher growth rate. The state would be able to undertake a more effective and rational centralized economic policy, so their natural choice was central state planning . Focusing o n socially useful production , socialist s preferred central planning in physical quantities rather than in illusory monetary terms.  It grew much stronger under Lenin , and Stalin clarified the communist understanding o f central planning with the first five-year plan (1929-33). The legacy was extreme centralization, vertical state command, excessive investment, and inefficiency .  Bureaucratically established quotas and targets  No market dynamics of supply and demand Communists believed in: - division of labor - economies of scale - disliked money

No price mechanisms, lack of innovation => international isolation; unified exchange rate made no sense bc the communists disliked money, “ Yet, the state should have a centralized monopoly on foreign trade . Since domestic prices were regulated nationally , they had to be delinked from world market prices. Because communists disliked money, a unified exchange rate made no sense. In effect, each good had its own exchange rate to the extent that one could talk about any exchange rate at all. Foreign trade became subject to arbitrary decisions by communist rulers”. Cult of work: I will come to work to help build Communism paradise - “Каждый день труда, шаг к Коммунизму”. Paternalistic redistribution: - giving not selling (subsidized food, universal health care, affordable housing, education, mandatory employment) - basic consumption needs never met Surveillance and Repression:  Bureaucracy invading private lives  Travel bans  Encouragement of informers  Persecution of dissidents - forced exile - job loss  Samizdat - “… was a key form of dissident activity across the Soviet bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground publications by hand and passed the documents from reader to reader. This grassroots practice to evade official Soviet censorship was fraught with danger, as harsh punishments were meted out to people caught possessing or copying censored materials. Vladimir Bukovsky summarized it as follows: "Samizdat: I write it myself, edit it myself, censor it myself, publish it myself, distribute it myself, and spend jail time for it myself."[1] From Lenin to Stagnation  Leonid Brezhnev takes office in 1964  The period of “Stagnation” - economic decline - political ossification/ bureaucratization of Party - loss of legitimacy/ no commitment to ideology - spread of corruption - social change in attitude Arrival of Mikhail Gorbachev  The root of the gerontocracy: Brezhnev dies in 1982 => Andropov(13 months) => Chernenko(12 months) - The years after Khrushchev were notable for the "stability of cadres" in the party and state apparatus. In this context, cadre were party members who held responsible positions (usually administrative) in either the party or the government apparatus. In a more restricted sense, a person who has been fully indoctrinated in party ideology and methods and uses this training in his or her work. By introducing the slogan "Trust in Cadres" in 1965, Brezhnev won the support of many bureaucrats wary of the constant reorganizations of the Khrushchev era and eager for security in established hierarchies. As an example of the new stability, nearly half of the Central Committee members in 1981 were holdovers from fifteen years earlierThe corollary to this stability was the aging of Soviet leaders; the average age of Politburo members rose from fifty-five in 1966 to sixty-eight in 1982. The Soviet leadership (or the "gerontocracy," as it was referred to in the West) became increasingly conservative and ossified.  Mikhail Gorbachev(born in 1931) -> emergence of the new thinking Perestroika - economic reform - re-building - 1987: law on the State Enterprise

> decentralization of planning > wholesale trade > real financial independence - non-state property and entrepreneurial activity > private - new freedoms and association, local elections, institutional reforms - various reforms( LOOK AT THE DEBATE THING) Glasnost’ - openness of publicity - “socialist pluralism of opinions” challenged the claim of one single truth Legacies: - informal rules over formal institutions - economies dominated by monopoly interests - personalized relations - estates rather than classes

Part I: Transition from the Soviet Union The Collapse of the USSR

P. Kushlis(2011):  The collapse of the USSR was forseen by Western experts - however, their points of view were ignored by Bush administration as Bush needed to support Gorbachev at all costs to develop good relation with Soviet Union Dallin (2013):  Collapse of the SU was predeterminated from the emergence of the system  The collapse of the SU is the product of unintended results of both, socioeconomic development and of earlier policy choices  A cluster of interrelated developments, and their interaction, formed essential conditions for the collpase of SU: ->>>The loosening of control, the spread of corruption, the erosion of ideology, the impact of social change on value and social pathologies, the growing impact of the external environment on Soviet Society and politics, and the consequences of economic constraints  Blind spots in the perceptions and policies choices in Gorbachev leadership

Starts with 1989 Revolution in Europe The Soviet Union was created over 20 years - geographical empire  Ethnic questions  Only 50-70% Russians  The Baltic States -> never looked back  Georgia, etc. (Caucasus +Ukraine, Belrussia, MD)  Asian States

1990-1991: House of Cards  Nationalists protests in the Baltic States, the Caucasus, and Central Asia => bloody crackdown fuel anger  Anti-Soviet sentiments rising dramatically -> national parliamentary elections return pro-independence parties !!! The SU is brought to put down all the nationalist movements across the country - Russia cannot back their way our of it!!! Boris Yeltsin and Democratic Russia - former party boss in Ekaterinburg and then mayor of Moscow  Critic of Soviet - type communism, especially of Perestroika  Most influential advocate of Russian sovereignty and full independence => asserted Russian laws and institutions over Soviet ones  Elected to the 1st Russian Parliament and the first Russian President August, 1991 - Coup  

A house divided: conservatives, Gorbachev, Yeltsin, and the liberals Conservative fear growing unrest and being sidelined under Gorbachev’s reforms - privileges under threat  Intention was to prevent them from blocking progress towards a more market economy  Gorbachev placed under value

End Times:  Boris Yeltsin supplants Gorbachev as face of the country -> Sharing the Kremlin together

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December, 8, 1991 - leaders of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russian meet in Belarus to announce the end of the USSR and its replacement a Commonwealth of Independent States -> some republics wanted independence -> all signed dissolution treaty on December, 21

Economic Collapse at hand - fiscal emergencies begin to overwhelm > severe shortages > external and internal debt crisis: unrestrained borrowing and lending > inflation: printing money What has Perestroika Wrought? 1. Failure to address macroeconomics problems  Steadily aggravated distortions  Inability to adapt new technology 2. Unleashing of political problems  New inequalities state emerging in society  Decentralization of power leaders to new power bases in society Hollow Ideology  Failed economic reforms de-legitimize regime and forced people to question their leaders -> consumerism starts to take hold -> was socialism truly superior to capitalism?  What to do with Stalinist repression? -> Moral leadership for Andrei Sakharov -> Glasnost’s punctures the system’s coherence The Nationalism Question    

Long - term grievances Titular nationalities vs ethnic Russians Fiscal control delegated to the republics Yeltsin and Russian nationalists demand their own republic

International Factor    

Arms race and unsustainable spending - Reagan’s Star Wars Program Exchange, trade, and information Western recovery and technological progress Increasing debt

What Went Right?

What Went Wrong?

- minimal state conflict and violence -> frozen and unfrozen conflicts in MD, G, Ar -> Tajik Civil War - no loss of control over nuclear weapon

- lasting economic chaos in numerous republics - CIS failed to function - pre-conditions not favorable for democracy across former SU

- quick accession of a new group of nationstates to the international community - expression of popular (&&&&)

-> the importance of the Communist Elites - varied attempts to deal with moral legacy of Communism

Repression, information, winners and losers, ideology and loyalty, informality, welfare

Hellman (2002) - the radical reformers behind mass privatization in Russia held an evolutionary approach toward the development of efficient market-supporting institutions. Their belief in this revolutionary approach was so strong that it shaped their assumptions about the initial distribution of property rights. Far from ignoring the importance of marketsupporting institutions, the reformers’ decisions about privatization were, in part, driven by their desire to create a structure of incentives that would create a constituency for further institutional reforms.

Part II. How Russia is Ruled Putin the Person - long career in KGB, secret lifestyle Documentary:  “I need to be the way my people expect me to be.”

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A. Lieven (2005) Hostility towards V. Putin stems from two beliefs:

- Russia should move quickly toward Western-style democracy (mistaken, also mentioned in the documentary as the view from the past) - there is a strong, popular, opposition ready to lead such transformation(pure fantasy)  “Only semi-authoritarian government such as Putin’s can keep Russia moving in the Right direction”  Western faith for Russia’s prospects for rapid reform is naive because this belief is rooted in the success of the former Communist States of Central and Eastern Europe. However, those countries are homogeneous (which is not applicable to Russia). The historical, economic, cultural background differ significantly.  “Placed in the context of most former Soviet republics, Russia looks better than average in terms of both development and democracy”.  Far-right parties than can well act as fronts for oligarchs interests, do not leave any prospects for reforms  The rise of Russia’s oligarchs is “probably the worst byproduct of Russia’s early introduction to democracy” - fully democratic government would be able to take the oligarchs “down the peg”.  “... the appearance of democracy has often masked domination by elites who have plundered the state, obstructed economic reform, and murdered journalists and activists who dared to expose their behavior”. All that led to populist backlash “which have damaged prospects for economic growth and democratic consolidation still further”.  “In a generation, things may look more hopeful. If they do, it will be due in large part to Vladimir Putin”. On a number of issues, he is still pushing economic reform in the face of the entrenched opposition of powerful elites and public opinion.

Political Career after the collapse of USSR - 5 years as deputy mayor until A. Sobchak - head of presidential property - deputy chief of staff of presidential administration - appointed head of FSB in July, 1999 - uncharismatic and stiff, hard to read December 31, 1999 - Yeltsin resigns gaining immunity from prosecution (video of NY speech of Yeltsin -> I am tired, I am leaving. Putin steps in, and becomes an acting president).  Putin is unpredicted and a complete unknown: comes out of nowhere to become PM in 1999 -> patronage based system -> Yeltsin wants to establish legacy and preserve family’s position Apartment Bombings: September 4-16, 1999  4 apartment buildings are blown up in Buynaksk, Moscow, and Volgodonsk  300 fatalities, over 1000 injured -> spreading wave of fear across the country  “Chechen Trail” cited  Russian Duma speaker, Gennadiy Seleznyov, announces report that Volgodonsk bombing occurs before it actually does  Ryazan failed bombing on September, 22: unusual activity reported, and RDX found - license plates traced to FSB, employees inside - claiming it was sugar  Suspects: Islamic Djamaat of Dagestan, Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, and Federal Security Service of Russia  The bombings, together with the Dagestan War, led the country into the Second Chechen War. The Unresolved Chechnya Question    

Political tensions still high: attempted assassination on Chechen President Invasion of Dagestan by Chechen militants on August 7, 1999 Growth of radical Islamism Better prepared forces; but without media coverage to turn public mood against the war

Putin’s 1st years in the Office  New Unity Party (Единство) wins the December 1999 elections (right before the appointment) - deflects challenge from Mayor Luzhkov of Moscow and former PM Primakov - aided by TV stations owned by Oligarchs - gives him a powerful ally within Duma  Skyrocketing popularity leads to victory in March, 2000 presidential polls - advancing troops and heroism of war - bold, assertive political style - young, healthy vigorous athlete High Hope!  

Leading experts believed Putin was well-positioned to keep Russia on the path to democracy Putin as authoritarian leader seen as righting the ship -> “Smutnoye Vremya”: time of troubles -> weakened influence in near neighborhood -> capitulated to NATO in Serbia -> state in disarray and bankrupt

Goals in Office     

Strengthen and stabilize regime Build new system of political party competition Rein in independent regional governors Curb the power of the oligarchs and impose more state-centered version of capitalism Return Russia to great power status and project power abroad

Methods  Relying on inner circle of siloviki: old KGB hands - servants of the state and the new elites - ozero collective: Putin’s circle of ppl live together around the lake outside of St Petersburg  Restorer of the state(NY message): gosudarstvennik - constitutional fidelity - USSR as “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century”  Uses of history to further aims: cultural restoration  Masculinity and muzhik  Populist, colorful language infused with humor

Parliamentary Dynamics and Political Parties “Parliament is not a place for political battles, for defending some sort of political slogans or ideology. It is apace where people should engage in constructive, effective impactive activity” - Boris Gryzlov

Henry Hale  In 2000, Russia’s party system began to take shape but with a major twist. Putin instituted a series of reforms that weakened the most important pre-existing parties and corralled a majority of the most influential independent politicians into a new pro-Putin organization called the United Russia Party. Putin was a chairman in the period of 2008-2012, but refused to call himself as a party member, preferring to keep distance and periodically criticize the party. Party has commanded majorities but was never able to reach the point of complete dominance  Kremlin often manipulates the party system by revising important laws in ways that help it survive different challenges.  Why would politician join the party? - a politician will always join a party when that party gives the candidate a greater chance of getting elected than he or she would have as an independent - parties can provide a candidate with money, organization, connections, and other resources that can be used to campaign or otherwise win office - they can connect a candidate with a set of ideas that the party has a reputation for pursuing, helping a candidate reach out to ppl who may support the party’s ideas but who may not know anything about the candidate  Politicians who are rich in either resources or reputation, tend to be particularly successful party builders bc they have something that other ambitious politicians want  RESOURCES AND REPUTATION are building blocks of parties  Soviet State - the most important source of building blocks for Russia’s first party system. !!! Almost every non-communist politician who has built a truly successful Russian party gained his or her primary fame or other party-building resources through some connection with the state structures of the USSR or the Russian Federation - Because the state had control over resources, money, media, etc. people within or connected to the state had major advantages in building the first non-communist parties, continued to have tremendous resources that could be used against party-building projects that they did not like or to support parties that served their purposes.

Legislative Institutions in Russia  

Soviet legacy of council system 1993 Constitution creates two-chamber Federal Assembly -> State Duma: 450 seats...