Chronology

The Russian Political System

Chronology

1547-Establishment of Russian state under Ivan the Terrible

1613 Mikhail Romanov becomes Tsar of Russia (to 1645); founding of House of Romanov

1639 Russian Cossacks advance to Okhotsk (over Urals to Pacific)

1689 Peter the Great becomes Tsar of Russia

1697 Peter travels Europe to study their way of life

1725 Peter dies; wife Catherine takes over (to 1727)

1762 Catherine the Great reigns

1766 Great Commission (elected rep. From all classes except serfs)

1861 Emancipation of Russian Serfs

1867 Russia sells Alaska for $7,200,000 to US

1881 assassination of Alexander II;

1894 Alexander III dies; Nicholas II succeeds

1903 At London congress of Russ. Social Dem. Party split into Mensheviks and Bolsheviks

1904 Russo-Japanese War

1905 Revolution of 1905; Bloody Sunday in St. Petersburg War ends with Japan; Imperial Duma established

1906; first Duma meets, dissolved;

1907 Second and Third Dumas meet; Lenin leaves Russia

1914 WWI

1916 Rasputin killed

1917 Bolshevik Revolution; February revolution-Provisional Government

(Kerensky) October Revolution Civil War begins

1918 Brest-Litovsk; Imperial Family assassinated;

1924 Lenin dies; Stalin, rises to power;

1932 Second Five Year plan begins; famine; collectivization;

1933 US recognizes USSR and resumes trade;

1940 WWII begins

1941 June, Germans invade Russia; Siege of Petersburg

1945 Yalta Conference; end of WWII; Cold War begins

1953 Stalin dies; Krushchev leader

1956 Krushchevs Secret Speech against Stalin;

1964 Krushchev removed, Brzhenev becomes leader

1985 Gorbachev becomes leader; glasnost; perestroika

1990 Gorbachev democratizes parliament

1991 coup; dissolution of USSR; Yeltsin President of Russia

1992 Unsuccessful attempt by Parliament to remove Yeltsin

Institutions

USSR

Communist party (more influential than government structures)

General secretary

Politburo

Central Committee

Government

President/Premier

Supreme Soviet

Soviets

Post Soviet Russia

President; Duma; Cabinet and Prime Minister (appointed by president and approved by Duma)

Issues: President versus Parliament—who has (or will have) power?

Federalism?

USSR—nominally a federation but strong central control. Dissolves into constituent parts which become independent countries.

Russia—also a federation. Several kinds of subdivisions: oblasts and krais are administrative districts. Also republic, autonomous districts and autonomous oblasts may be established to give voice or representation to nationalities.

Discussion Questions 1

Is Russia too centralized to be democratic?

Did centralization of power in the USSR cause its destruction or did it enable the country become a superpower?

Is what happened in Chechnya likely to be repeated in other Russian republics?

Political Culture

Russians in the Post-Soviet era have indicated support for democracy in opinion polls, but have little faith in the government or politics. While it is hard to know how dependable such findings are considering the fact that:

Political tolerance is not a well-accepted value

The military is the only institution that has majority support

Russians tend to associate democracy and capitalism; economic hardship may erode support for democracy

Political Socialization

In USSR, Communist thought basis of all formal socialization; little criticism allowed (se pp. 399-400)

Informal factors produced change unanticipated by communists:

Generational change
Educational levels
Urbanization

Participation and Recruitment

As we discussed, under communist rule, high levels of the population took part in elections. This was a formality.

Dissent during the communist era was repressed; dissidents were imprisoned, killed or exiled. By the 1980s when society was opened under Gorbachev and some dissent allowed, some non-governmental associations were formed that later served as political organizations in the post Soviet era.

Participation in post-soviet elections was at around 70% of the electorate.

Interest Articulation and Aggregation

(student presentation)

Political Parties

Parties have tended to be highly personal. Many independents have won office (including Yeltsin) and in the Duma they will later form as a Bloc. More important than any individual party is where they place themselves on the ideological spectrum that is relevant to post-soviet Russia: Reform, Centrist, or Opposition (to Yeltsin).

Economic and Democratic Transition

Is transition to a free market possible under a democratic regime? Can a free market be maintained without a democratic regime? How fast should a market transition take place? What should be the method of disposing of state property?

Courts

Why is judicial reform important for regime legitimacy? Why is it an essential element of the move toward a free market?

Discussion Questions 2

Why is political socialization in revolutionary regimes so difficult? Use Bolshevik Russia and Post-Soviet Russia as examples.

Discuss the following statement: "the most dangerous time for a bad government is when it starts to reform itself." How did this apply to the USSR and to post Soviet Russia?

Why are so many parties represented in the Duma? What is the impact on the strength of the Duma versus the President?

What are the dangers of having a government that is too responsive to public opinion during a period of economic transition? What are the dangers of having a government that is not responsive enough?