The Troubled Birth of Russian Democracy: Parties, Personalities, and Programs

The Troubled Birth of Russian Democracy: Parties, Personalities, and Programs PDF Author:
Publisher: Hoover Press
ISBN: 9780817992330
Category : Political parties
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description
The demise of communism in the Soviet Union could not have occurred without the activism of dissident, anticommunist leaders who created and nourished a climate in which ordinary Russians gained the courage to stand up to and defeat communist control. But with communism ousted, what new form of government and what new leaders will emerge in Russia, a society that has never known democracy? Michael McFaul, a research associate at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Arms Control, and Sergei Markov, an assistant professor at Moscow State University, interviewed anti-communist leaders and collected the documents of anticommunist parties in the months preceding and immediately following the August 1991 attempted coup d'etat. To examine the range of the political spectrum in Russia, they also talked to procommunist leaders who emerged to oppose Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms, nationalist and anti-Semitic leaders of movements such as Pamyat', labor unions, Christian movements, and organizations opposed to the division of the Soviet Union. What emerges is a kaleidoscope of leaders with distinct ideas on key issues facing Russia: how to reform the economy, what role the market should play in a new economic system, how to respond to growing demands from non-Russian republics for independence, what leaders can be trusted, what Russia's relations with the West should be, and what form of government would be best for Russia. Gathered here are essays offering historical background on the parties, selected interviews with prominent members of these groups, and important party documents. Whether democracy will flourish in Russia remains in question. The parties profiled here, actively involved in the debate over Russia's future, offer readers an insider's look into contemporary Russian politics.

The Troubled Birth of Russian Democracy: Parties, Personalities, and Programs

The Troubled Birth of Russian Democracy: Parties, Personalities, and Programs PDF Author:
Publisher: Hoover Press
ISBN: 9780817992330
Category : Political parties
Languages : en
Pages : 340

Get Book Here

Book Description
The demise of communism in the Soviet Union could not have occurred without the activism of dissident, anticommunist leaders who created and nourished a climate in which ordinary Russians gained the courage to stand up to and defeat communist control. But with communism ousted, what new form of government and what new leaders will emerge in Russia, a society that has never known democracy? Michael McFaul, a research associate at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Arms Control, and Sergei Markov, an assistant professor at Moscow State University, interviewed anti-communist leaders and collected the documents of anticommunist parties in the months preceding and immediately following the August 1991 attempted coup d'etat. To examine the range of the political spectrum in Russia, they also talked to procommunist leaders who emerged to oppose Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms, nationalist and anti-Semitic leaders of movements such as Pamyat', labor unions, Christian movements, and organizations opposed to the division of the Soviet Union. What emerges is a kaleidoscope of leaders with distinct ideas on key issues facing Russia: how to reform the economy, what role the market should play in a new economic system, how to respond to growing demands from non-Russian republics for independence, what leaders can be trusted, what Russia's relations with the West should be, and what form of government would be best for Russia. Gathered here are essays offering historical background on the parties, selected interviews with prominent members of these groups, and important party documents. Whether democracy will flourish in Russia remains in question. The parties profiled here, actively involved in the debate over Russia's future, offer readers an insider's look into contemporary Russian politics.

Russian Society and the Orthodox Church

Russian Society and the Orthodox Church PDF Author: Zoe Knox
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134360827
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 267

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Book Description
Russian Society and the Orthodox Church examines the Russian Orthodox Church's social and political role and its relationship to civil society in post-Communist Russia. It shows how Orthodox prelates, clergy and laity have shaped Russians' attitudes towards religious and ideological pluralism, which in turn have influenced the ways in which Russians understand civil society, including those of its features - pluralism and freedom of conscience - that are essential for a functioning democracy. It shows how the official church, including the Moscow Patriarchate, has impeded the development of civil society, while on the other hand the non-official church, including nonconformist clergy and lay activists, has promoted concepts central to civil society.

The Russian Parliamentary Elections of 1995

The Russian Parliamentary Elections of 1995 PDF Author: 0 Open Media Research Insitute,
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1040282377
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 202

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Book Description
This work provides an introduction to some of the most important and representative genres of classical Korean literature. Coverage includes: "Samguk sagi" and "samguk yusa" as literature; "Kunmong" and "Unyongchon"; the lyricism of Koryo songs; and the literature of Chosen Dynasty Women.

The Sources Of Russian Foreign Policy After The Cold War

The Sources Of Russian Foreign Policy After The Cold War PDF Author: Celeste A Wallander
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000305600
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 233

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Book Description
In this timely and pathbreaking volume, scholars in comparative politics and international relations build upon earlier theoretical work on the interaction of domestic and international systems, applying it innovatively to the study of post-Soviet Russian policy and conduct. Individual chapters focus on regime type, leadership politics, interest group politics, nationalism as ideology, international conflict and threat, and international economic opportunities and constraints. The complex interplay between domestic and international factors is highlighted. Exploring both the origins and the outcomes of Russian policy and behavior, this book provides a telling measure of the direction and significance of political change since 1991.

Growing Pains

Growing Pains PDF Author: Timothy J. Colton
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN: 9780815715009
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 774

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Book Description
The Russian Federation on December 12, 1993, held its first national election since the collapse of Soviet Communism. The election, to a new, two-chamber parliament, was accompanied by a constitutional referendum. It followed months of wrangling over political and economic reform and a violent showdown in Moscow between President Boris Yeltsin and his opponents. After a bitter campaign in which the government frequently changed the rules of the game, Russians narrowly endorsed Yeltsin's draft constitution, but turned out in large numbers for nationalistic and socialistic opposition parties, leaving Russia's Choice, the party favored by the president, with a small minority of the seats. The contest, with its deeply contradictory results, was a watershed in the evolution of Russia's fledgling democracy. Growing Pains is a detailed study of the 1993 election and of its implications for Russian development and for the country's relations with the West. Several chapters, relying on comprehensive surveys of the Russian electorate, analyze the election process and how social structure and citizen opinions shaped voter choice. Others examine the campaigns of the major parties, the nature and consequences of electoral rules, and the roles of the mass media. Still others examine the campaign and its outcome at the grassroots in ten regions of Russia, from the western provinces to the Pacific coast, demonstrating the significance of local context and local elites and power structures in Russia's transitional politics.

The Origins of Dominant Parties

The Origins of Dominant Parties PDF Author: Ora John Reuter
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316773035
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
In many autocracies, regime leaders share power with a ruling party, which can help generate popular support and reduce conflict among key elites. Such ruling parties are often called dominant parties. In other regimes, leaders prefer to rule solely through some combination of charisma, patronage, and coercion, rather than sharing power with a dominant party. This book explains why dominant parties emerge in some nondemocratic regimes, but not in others. It offers a novel theory of dominant party emergence that centers on the balance of power between rulers and other elites. Drawing on extensive fieldwork in Russia, original data on Russian political elites, and cross-national statistical analysis, the book's findings shed new light on how modern autocracies work and why they break down. The book also provides new insights about the foundations of Vladimir Putin's regime and challenges several myths about the personalization of power under Putin.

Unexpected Outcomes

Unexpected Outcomes PDF Author: Robert G. Moser
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Pre
ISBN: 9780822972235
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description
Can democratization be promoted by "getting the institutions right?" In Unexpected Outcomes, Robert G. Moser offers a compelling analysis of the extent to which institutions can be engineered to promote desired political outcomes. The introduction of democracy in Eastern Europe and the former USSR has enabled scholars to bring new perspectives to the debate about electoral systems. Russia is arguably the most important of the postcommunist states and its mixed electoral system provides an interesting controlled experiment for testing the impact of different electoral systems.Moser examines the effects of electoral systems on political parties and representation in Russia during the 1990s. Moser's study is not only a highly original contribution to our understanding of contemporary Russian politics, but also a significant step forward in the comparative study of electoral systems. Through his comprehensive empirical analysis of Russian elections, Moser provides the most detailed examination of a mixed electoral system to date. This system was introduced in Russia to encourage party formation and benefit reformist parties allied with President Yeltsin. However, the effects were contrary to what the creators of the system expected and also defied the most well-established hypotheses in electoral studies. Parties proliferated under both the PR and plurality halves of the election and patterns of women and minority representation ran counter to prevailing theory and international experience.With an epilogue that updates the study through the December 1999 elections, Unexpected Outcomes makes an important and timely contribution to the ongoing debate over the ability and inability of elites to fashion preferred political outcomes through institutional design.

Why Not Parties in Russia?

Why Not Parties in Russia? PDF Author: Henry E. Hale
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9781139447874
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
Russia poses a major puzzle for theorists of party development. Whereas virtually every classic work takes political parties to be inevitable and essential to democracy, Russia has been dominated by non-partisan politicians ever since communism collapsed. This book mobilizes public opinion surveys, interviews with leading Russian politicians, careful tracking of multiple campaigns, and analysis of national and regional voting patterns to show why Russia stands out. Russia's historically influenced combination of federalism and super-presidentialism, coupled with a post-communist redistribution of resources to regional political machines and oligarchic financial-industrial groups, produced and sustained powerful party-substitutes that have largely squeezed Russia's real parties out, damaging Russia's democratic development.

Russia's Stillborn Democracy?

Russia's Stillborn Democracy? PDF Author: Graeme J. Gill
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199240418
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description
The decade and a half since Gorbachev came to power has been a tumultuous time for Russia. It has seen the expectations raised by perestroika dashed, the collapse of the Soviet superpower, and the emergence of a new Russian state claiming to base itself on democratic, market principles. It has seen a political system shattered by a president turning tanks against the parliament, and then that president configuring the new political structure to give himself overwhelming power. Theseupheavals took place against a backdrop of social dislocations as the Russian people were ravaged by the effects of economic shock therapy.This book explains how these momentous changes came about, and in particular why political elites were able to fashion the new political system largely independent of the wishes of the populace at large. It was this relationship between powerful elites and weak civil society forces which has led to Russian democracy under Yeltsin being still born.

The American Bibliography of Slavic and East European Studies

The American Bibliography of Slavic and East European Studies PDF Author: Patt Leonard
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315480832
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1725

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Book Description
This bibliography, first published in 1957, provides citations to North American academic literature on Europe, Central Europe, the Balkans, the Baltic States and the former Soviet Union. Organised by discipline, it covers the arts, humanities, social sciences, life sciences and technology.