ABSTRACT
RESEARCH PAPER: The Illusion of Democracy in Post-Communist Russia: How
Internal and External Relationships have Evolved After the Fall of the Soviet Union.
STUDENT: Benjamin Kemp
DEGREE: Master of Arts
COLLEGE: Sciences and Humanities
DATE: May, 2012
PAGES: 42
This study has presented a comprehensive review of Russia’s attempts at
democracy after the fall of the Soviet Union. The domestic and international policies
initiated by Russian presidents Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin are analyzed in an
attempt to determine how effective Russia has been in its endeavor to become a
democracy. These attempts, however, have been less than effective. Claims of election
fraud, the elimination of domestic rivals, and other abuses of executive powers by both
Yeltsin and Putin have shown that the attempts at democracy are far from successful.
Finally, the future of Russia is reviewed, showing the increasingly codependent
relationship Russia has with fossil fuels, and how Russia’s future prosperity is guaranteed
for only so long as the oil and natural gas continue to flow.