1 st Period- Chandler Kirchner, Sasha Zlatopolsky, Averi
Donaldson, Patrick Scott, and Will Monico DAY 1 Russia
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Introduction Official name: Russian Federation Capital city:
Moscow Population(2012): 143.5 million Size: 17,075,200 square km;
about 1.8 the size of the United States (largest country in the
world-area) Currency: Ruble Spans 11 time zones
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Other Pertinent Geography Less than 8% of Russias land is
arable 45% is forested Rich in natural resources (minerals, timber,
oil, and natural gas) concentrated in western Siberia and northern
Russia majority of economic wealth
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Regime History Re-formed as an independent state with the
collapse of communist rule in December 1991 Current constitution
since December 1993 (1993 Constitutional Crisis) Government all
together referred to as the Kremlin
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Levels of Government Constitutionally a federal system, with 83
subnational governments with their own regional legislature
Politically centralized After the Russian Federation became an
independent state, the problem of union republics demanding
independence resurfaced
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Subnational Governments Power vertical and Putin Define Beslan
attacks (2004) Putin blamed local governments Local governors now
nominated by the president and approved by the regional
legislature
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Executive Dual executive (president and prime minister)
President is directly elected Prime minister appointed by the
president with approval of the lower house of parliament (State
Duma) Presidential system
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President- Powers and Responsibilities Current President:
Vladimir Putin President also considered the head of state, and
until 2008 the office held primary power Traditionally, the
president oversees foreign policy, relations with regions, and
organs of state security Boris Yeltsin resignation Dec 1999 power
shifts to president
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Presidential Power Most important power authority to issue
decrees (ukase) -allows the president to ignore an uncooperative
government -Ex: Yeltsin and Chechnya (1994 and 1999)
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Presidential Powers Cont. The president can - call a state of
emergency - impose martial law - grant pardons - call referendums
-and temporarily suspend actions of other state organs if he deems
them to contradict the constitution or federal laws Some of these
actions have to be confirmed by other state organs i.e. upper house
of parliament the Federation Council
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Powers and Impeachment Commander-in-chief of the armed forces
Conducts affairs of state with other nations Impeachment involves
the two house of parliament (the Duma and the Federation Council),
the Supreme Court, and the Constitutional Court -in other words
rarely occurs President dies or resigns, the prime minister takes
his/her place until elections are held
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Prime Minister- Powers and Responsibilities Current Prime
Minister: Dmitri Medvedev Head of government Picked by president
and approved by the Duma Flanked by varying numbers of deputy prime
ministers Can be removed by the Duma through two repeat votes of no
confidence passed within a three-month period
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Elections Relatively high voter turnout 70%in the 2008
presidential vote National elections extensive media coverage
Higher turnout appearance of legitimacy National elections were
considered reasonably fair up until 2003, fairness of recent
elections is still questioned
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National Bureaucracy Some government ministries report directly
to the president Ministers other than the prime minister do not
require parliamentary approval. Prime minister makes
recommendations, and the president chooses them Patronage is very
common
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Legislature Bicameral, asymmetric Upper house Federation
Council Lower House State Duma Together called the Federal
Assembly
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Federation Council Represents Russias constituent federal units
Has two members from each of Russias federal regions and republics
Many prominent businessmen are among the appointees, patronage is
also common Party factions not significant Deputies to the Federal
Council and the Duma are granted immunity from criminal prosecution
Has the power to delay legislation
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Not this But this
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State Duma 450 members, electoral system = proportional
representation Council (ten members) and 32 committees Elects its
own speaker (or chair) Within the Duma, factions unite deputies
from the same party Holds most legislative power
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZGaaqH2o6I
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Parliamentary Powers Constitution grants parliament powers in
the legislative and budgetary areas If there is conflict with the
president or government, the powers can only be exercised if
parliament operates with a high degree of unity President can
override acts of parliament with a veto Each house has power to
confirm certain presidential appointees Federation Council has to
approve presidential degrees relating to martial law and state
emergencies, as well as deploying troops abroad
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Policy-Making Process In order for a bill to become law it must
If the bill is vetoed by the president -Many policy proclamations
have been made through presidential of governmental decrees, w/o
formal consultation with the legislative branch
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Elections Until 2007, the electoral system for selecting the
Duma was a combination of proportional representation (w/ 5%
threshold) and winner- take-all districts The 2007 election
introduced a new electoral system involving one national
proportional representation district, with the minimum threshold
raised to 7%
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The New System For parties above the 7% threshold, choice of
deputies from the party list must reflect strength of the vote in
the various regions In addition, in order to participate in the
election, a party must have affiliates in more than half of the
regions of Russia (2001)
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2013 Change Replaces a system of strict party-list voting The
new system came just after a year after allegations of widespread
fraud in the parliamentary elections in December 2011 set off a
wave of huge street protests in Moscow
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Protests over Election Fraud (2011) Next parliamentary
election: March 2016 Next presidential election: March 2018
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Major Political Parties Only one truly dominant party: United
Russia In the USSR, the Communist Party (CPSU) dominated not only
state organs but also oversaw all social institutions -Approx. 10%
of adults in the Soviet Union were party members -the Communist
Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) has steadily declined in
strength after a strong showing in the 1995 elections
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United Russia Dominated Russian politics since 2003, why?
-association with Putin and huge political machine capable of
winning over regional elites Poorly defined program - emphasizes
the uniqueness of the Russian approach -an appeal to values of
order and law -continued commitment to moderate reform
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Other Parties Communist Party of the Russian Federation Liberal
Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) A Just Russia Other Liberal
Democratic Parties (Russias Choice, Russias Democratic Choice, and
the Union of Rightist Forces)
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2011 Party Seat totals
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Leadership and Elite Recruitment Russian politics are dominated
by men and people of Russian ethnicity Connections with other
elites get a candidate in office To increase women in government,
United Russia has nominated female celebrities like athletes,
actresses, and even a ballerina
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Interest Groups When Mikhail Gorbachev took office as Communist
Party leader in March 1985, he introduced a reform program to spur
economic growth. - glasnost-petrestroika These policies allowed for
the rising of interests groups in the USSR During the Yeltsin
period, business magnates (referred to often as oligarchs) were
able to exert behind-the- scenes influence in policy-making Putin
has attempted to reduce the direct political influence of powerful
economic figures
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Examples of Interest Groups Federation of Independent Trade
Unions (1990) The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs
(RUIE) (1991) Going Together/Walking Together youth group (May
2000) Nashi youth group (March 2005)
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Military and Security Organs Because of Putins career
background in the KGB, many of his staff are from this arena
Federal Security Service is the successor of the KGB Soviet
military was second only to the US Defense spending declined in the
1990, the increased again after 2000, but is still far below Soviet
levels There is universal male conscription. In 2008, the mandatory
service was reduced from two years to one year
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The Judiciary There was a Constitutional Court in 1991, but
Yeltsin suspended the operations of the court in late 1993 However,
the Russian constitution now provides for a Constitutional Court
again - It has the power to adjudicate disputes on the
constitutionality of federal and regional laws as well as
jurisdictional disputes between various political institutions
Judges are nominated by the president and approved by the
Federation Council Been known to be involved in protecting
individuals rights and conforming regional laws with constitutional
requirements Rarely confront the executive branch
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Lower Courts Along with Constitutional Court, there is an
extensive system of lower and appellate courts, with the Supreme
Court at the pinnacle The Federation Council must approve nominees
for Supreme Court judgeships The constitution also grants the
president power to appoint judges at other levels Type of law used:
code
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DAY 2 Russia
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Political Culture Attitude toward the Government Glasnost
Putins Approval Rating
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Political Cleavages Nationality Religion Social Class
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Political Socialization Citizens attitude and connection to
government Civil Society Nashi
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Role of the Media Pravda Under Putin there is some freedom of
press
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Political participation Voting Voter participation is higher in
Russia than the US Complaints and Protest
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Political Violence December 31, 2010, dozens of political
protestors were arrested, leader Boris Nemtsov held for 15 days
Estimated 52 journalists have been murdered since 1992 March 31st
to April 1st, 2009, Lev Alexandrovich Ponomarev, a former deputy in
the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR was brutally attacked
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Role of Women Women in Politics and Workplace Double
Burden
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Role of minorities Due to the extremely diverse population,
minorities enjoy the same rights and freedoms as majorities.
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Conflicts 1991: Georgian Civil War 1992: East Prigorodny
Conflict 2008: Russo-Georgian War 2009-: Insurgency in North
Caucasus
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Social Movements Political and social organizations have sprung
up. Putins restrictive legislation slows progress. Without the help
of the West many of these NGOs have not found success in their
causes.
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Modern Political Changes Communist from 1917-1991. After the
Russian Revolution, the czar was overthrown, Lenin takes power. In
1990 Boris Yeltsin was then elected President of Russia. After the
fall of the Berlin Wall, Russia started transitioning to democracy.
Similar to electoral democracy. Pluralist institutions in Russia
are weak. Interest groups are restricted.
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Consequences of Change Conservative Russian citizens miss the
communist days. The majority of Russia is completely in favor of
becoming more democratic. When Russia became a democracy, it
developed better relationships with the US and other allies. The
overall central government is not very corrupt, but state
governments are incredibly corrupt.
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Modern Economic Changes In 1989 a transition from a command
economy to a free market economy began. The goal: to move away from
communism as fast as possible. (shock therapy) The collapse of
communism created the opportunity for the movement of capital,
labor and goods across national borders while increasing economic
competition. The US helped Russia start privatizing state
assets.
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Consequences of Economic Transition Labor markets took a big
hit because of the reforms. Markets had high unemployment and a
decrease in real wages. Russia went through a steep recession as
inflation increased. The standard of living dramatically decreased.
There are also signs that Russia is moving towards a corporate
democracy. Businesses can now be owned by private sectors and there
is more opportunity for success.
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Relationship between Political and Economic Reform Wealth is
most definitely not shared. The rich get richer and the poor get
poorer Political elites are usually incredibly wealthy from other
ties These elites try to gain more money and their economic reforms
usually only benefit them; the poor suffer
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Effect on Globalization Russias original reforms were all for
globalizing. Russia wanted to gain a more western style democracy.
Although because Russia will not enter the EU it is clear that it
wants to stay clear of what the other countries in Europe are
doing. Russia is looking like it is pushing for a corporate
democracy because of all of the oligarchical corruption that is
occurring. If this were to occur corruption would increase even
more and people who are not elites would suffer even more.
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This years winter Olympics brought Russia back into the
international spotlight while also bringing with it not only
economic growth but also terrorist threats. The increased
globalization from this event is yet to be seen.
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DAY 3 Russia
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Influences on Public Policy Appointed officials and head of the
government implement and influence public policymaking.
(Parliament, President, and Prime Minister) Interest groups need
government
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Supranational and international Institutions influencing
policies Russia holds a permanent seat. Russia is the EU's biggest
neighbor and third biggest trading partner. Russia is a current
member of the World Bank, NATO, and the WTO.
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Major Policy Issues Russia's unemployment is 5.6 % To pursue
economic growth, Russia must develop its human capital. Government
surveillance causes concern for civil liberties. Russian widespread
corruption is prettyyyyyy bad Russias air is also incredibly
polluted.
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Russian Unemployment
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Other Major Issues The relationship with Ukraine LGBT rights
Relations with other neighboring post-Soviet countries (i.e.
Georgia) Trying to become an equal partner with US and Europe Join
EU?
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Major Problems According to Forbes Magazine, Russias top three
problems are 1.Global Energy Landscape 2.Weak institutions 3.Social
cohesion