STUDENT NOTES 3

CH. 4 THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

III. CITIZENS, SOCIETY AND STATE:POLITICAL CULTURE

• Product of autocratic rule, uneven improvements in education and living standards, and rising Western exposure

• LEADS TO – contradictory culture• Citizens WANT a STRONG state BUT

distrust ALL state institutions• 66% said yay democracy BUT 45% a

“special Russian democracy” WTF?!?!

III. CITIZENS, SOCIETY AND STATE:POLITICAL CULTURE

• Deference to authority– Tradition of personalistic authority– Highly centralized leadership

• Statism and Collectivist tendencies– Expect the state to take an active role in their lives– Collectivism/egalitarianism – distrust those who get

ahead• Desire for order/stability b/c ORDER IS FRAGILE

– Even at expense of personal freedom• Mistrust of Government

– Most of population historically alienated from political system

– Subjects rather than participants

III. CITIZENS, SOCIETY AND STATE:POLITICAL CULTURE

• Geographic setting• Slavophile (“lover of slavs”) vs. westernizer• Equality of result NOT opportunity– Marxism – demise of capitalist west

• Pride in religion (Eastern Orthodox), language, customs, history

• Isolationism• Most people think government is ABOVE the law• Young, urban, well-educated push for liberal

values

III. CITIZENS, SOCIETY, AND STATE:POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION

• Russian Orthodox Church• Media controlled by state• Internet campaigns – Pro Putin• Nashi – youth movement• Textbook content schools

III. CITIZENS, SOCIETY, AND STATE:POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION

III. CITIZENS, SOCIETY, AND STATE:POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION

• New history textbooks and manuals for teachers laud Joseph Stalin, gloss over the murderous legacy of Soviet communism, and represent the Putin era as a restoration of greatness that is imperiled by the evil designs of Russia’s enemies.

• Youth movements, funded directly or indirectly by the Kremlin, act as capillaries to bring new blood into the elite

III. CITIZENS, SOCIETY, AND STATE:POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION

• Mainstream mass media, from nationwide television stations to major newspapers, are

now either under direct state control or owned by Kremlin-friendly business magnates

THE PRICE OF DISSENT

Anna Politkovskaya

BORIS NEMTSOV

III. CITIZENS, SOCIETY, AND STATECIVIL SOCIETY

• CIVIL SOCIETY – historically weak• Activities of IG, NGO’s, organizations

must be registered, approved, monitored in essence controlled by the state

• High level of statism – expectation of the government to play an active role (control)

III. CITIZENS, SOCIETY AND STATE:POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

• DID vote under USSR – 100%...but no competition

• So now Russians prize their right NOT TO participate…they’re doomed

• 83% say they DON’T have influence over policy decisions

• Participation in civic life builds social capital = trust and cooperation b/t gov and citizens: Russia VERY MUCH lacks this

• Direct (voting, canvassing, volunteering) and indirect (joining civic groups/associations) participation low

III. CITIZENS, SOCIETY AND STATE:POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

• “Floating” parties – – 1995 – 45 parties– 1999 – 26 parties– Revolve around LEADER or ISSUE– Weak party loyalty– Dominant party/party in powerDominant party/party in power—a political

party that manages to maintain consistent control of a political system through formal and informal mechanisms of power, with or without strong support from the population

Political Parties: United Russia

Centrist Organized by oligarch Boris Berezovsky “Party in power” Merger between “Fatherland All-Russia” Party and the

“United Party of Russia”– Put together to support Putin in the election of 2000

PLATFORM: Pro-Putin Centrist Strong Russia – central over regional

Chechnya Combine free market w/ regulation

Protect social welfare AND private property Anti-communist, anti-Americanism Western style foreign policy

Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF)

Party leader Gennady Zyuganov

Emphasizes central planning and nationalism, state ownership

Regain territories lost after Soviet Union dissolution

Most organized of the parties

Party base = older

Democratic PartiesFavor LIBERAL DEMOCRACY Yabloko– pro-democracy– Name is acronym for its three founders, also

means “apple”

A Just RussiaSocialist, equality and fairness

Union of Right Forces– Development of free market– Privatization of industry

Nationalist Party

Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR)

“Neither liberal, nor democratic. It’s like Canadian Bacon, it’s just ham.” -Berger

Headed by Vladimir Zhirinovsky– Extreme nationalist (injured ethnic

and state pride)– Anti-Semitic– Attacks reformist leaders and

disliked Yeltsin– Said he would use nuclear

weapons on Japan if he were elected

2011 DUMA elections

III. CITIZENS, SOCIETY, AND STATEELECTIONS

3 types– Referendum• Pres calls national referenda• Popular vote for national issue

–Duma Elections• Every 5 years• Proportional representation (7%)• 2 round majority system

– Presidential Elections• Ummm…whatever Putin want• 2 round majority system

Russian Discontent• Backlash against 2012 Putin “re-election”• Fraud, ballot rigging, police brutality,

corruption• Medvedev puppet/stooge• No freedom of press• Putin can remove governors at will and

not he appoints them

A RESURGENT RUSSIAN AUTHORITARIANISM

• Russia “will decide for itself the pace, terms, and conditions of moving towards democracy” -2005

• no challenges from an independent business community, the judiciary, an empowered electorate, or free media

A RESURGENT RUSSIAN AUTHORITARIANISM

• Tricks—legal devices prevent the formation of new political parties, state-controlled media relentlessly promote favored candidates and denigrate their opponents, election commissions ignore gross violations and punish minor ones, and duplicate candidates confuse voters

PUTIN’S RUSSIA

• Appoints regional governors• Higher parliamentary threshold (7%) to

eliminate smaller regional parties• Federation Council selected by

president not legislature• Control of media: TV and radio• While PM had undiminished powers• Harder to register as political

party/interest group

CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTIONS: RIGHTS & LIBERTIES

"Punk Prayer - Mother of God, Chase Putin Away!"