Political Science 361
Russian Politics
Eastern Michigan University
Fall 2013
CRN: 15227
T & Th, 12:30-1:45 p.m., Pray Harrold 421
Professor Judith Kullberg
Office: 601-S Pray Harrold
Telephone: (734) 487-1405 or 487-3113
Office hours: T & Th, 10 am - noon, and by
appointment
Email: judith.kullberg@emich.edu
Course Description
This course will explore the ongoing political, economic and social transformation of Russia, the
largest and most powerful successor state of the Soviet Union. Although the primary focus will
be on contemporary Russian politics, we will analyze the present within the broader context of
Russian and Soviet history. We will explore the causes and consequences of the revolution of
1917 and the development of the Soviet model of state socialism or communism. We will
consider the extent to which Mikhail Gorbachev's attempt in the late 1980s to restructure Soviet
socialism was a consequence of both the development of Soviet society and serious problems of
the Soviet system. We will also explore how the reforms of perestroika, intended to solve
systemic problems, actually aggravated them and contributed directly to the breakdown and
ultimate collapse of the Soviet system.
The dissolution of the USSR initiated a second period of far-reaching change, as more radical
economic reforms were launched under the leadership of Boris Yeltsin, who became president of
the Russia Federation in 1990. Although the foundations for a democratic political system and
market economy were laid during Yeltsin's presidency, the transformation was incomplete and
elements of the authoritarian past persisted. Moreover, the price paid by the Russian people for
the reforms was high: steep declines in the health and material well-being of most of the
population, the dismantling and disintegration of the social welfare system, and a significant
increase in the incidence of many social problems.
Under the more predictable and stronger leadership of Vladimir Putin, the economy strengthened
and elements of capitalism emerged, but democratic institutions were significantly weakened,
and older political patterns of hierarchy, suppression of dissent, and Russian nationalism
reappeared. Putin has revitalized the security services to solidify his power and focused on
modernization of the Russian military industrial complex in order for Russia to play a role as a
great world power, if not a superpower. His successor, Dmitry Medvedev, expressed support for
democracy and the rule of law, but did not alter the system created by Putin, who held the office
of Prime Minister during Medvedev’s administration. Putin returned to the presidency in March
2012 after an election characterized by a lack of competition, but faced increasing opposition
from society in the form of a widespread protest movement. Whether this movement will be
capable of moving the country once again toward democracy remains to be seen. At present, the
state appears to be successfully managing the opposition with a carrot-and-stick approach of
promises of reform accompanied by a harsh crackdown on dissent.
Russia’s foreign policy since the start of the Putin era has been consistent with the authoritarian
character of Russian domestic politics. The country’s current foreign policy strategy envisions
Russia’s national interests as opposed to or in tension with the interests of the U.S. and many
countries of the European Union. The current strained relations between Russia and the West
have been exacerbated by the civil war in Syria which has paralyzed the United Nations Security
Council and led to fears of a new Cold War.
To conceptualize the dynamics and likely future trajectory of Russian politics, the course will
draw upon comparative theories of democratization and institutional change. We will also
explore the phenomenon of globalization and how it has affected Russian society and politics
since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Objectives
By the end of the semester, you will have a good understanding of the general patterns of
Russian and Soviet political history and political behavior and be able to explain how the events
and choices in the past have affected the trajectory of political change and the problems of the
present. You will become familiar with theories of political change and use them to analyze
Russian politics. In addition, you will be able to identify and describe Russian political
institutions and discuss the factors influencing their performance. Through study of the political
and economic evolution of Russia, you will deepen your understanding of the regime types of the
contemporary world (communism, liberal democracy, and authoritarianism), as well as of the
character and dynamics of different types of economic systems (state socialism, capitalism, and
mixed economy).
Texts and Readings
Much of the required reading for the course will come from the two texts listed below.
Geoffrey Hosking, Russian History: A Very Short Introduction (New York: Oxford
University Press, 2012). ISBN: 978-0-19-958098-9. [Available in paperback and also
downloadable from Amazon.com.]
Stephen White, Understanding Russian Politics (New York: Cambridge University Press,
2011). ISBN: 978-0-52-168861-1. [Available in paperback and also online from
Cambridge].
Additional required readings can be found under “doc sharing” on the course eCollege site
(www.emuonline.edu). Where possible, readings listed as “recommended” will be placed on
reserve in the Halle library or posted on the eCollege site.
Finally, you will select, read, and write about one of the books on contemporary Russia listed
below:
Ben Judah, Fragile Empire: How Russia Fell In and Out of Love with Vladimir Putin (Yale
University Press, 2013). ISBN: 978-0300181210.
Masha Gessen, The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin (Riverhead
Books, 2012). 978-1-59448-842-9
Thane Gustafson, Wheel of Fortune: The Battle for Oil and Power in Russia (Belknap Press,
2012). ISBN: 978-0-674-06647-2
David E. Hoffman, The Oligarchs: Wealth and Power in the New Russia (Public Affairs,
2011). ISBN: 978-1610390705
Susan Richards, Lost and Found in Russia: Lives in the Post-Soviet Landscape (Other Press,
2010). ISBN: 978-1590513484
Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan, The New Nobility: The Restoration of Russia’s Security
State and the Enduring Legacy of the KGB (Public Affairs, 2010). ISBN: 978-1-586488024
Marshall Goldman, Petrostate: Putin, Power, and the New Russia (New York: Oxford
University Press, 2008). ISBN: 978-0-19-534073-0
Edward Lucas, The New Cold War: Putin’s Russia and the Threat to the West (New York:
Palgrave Macmillan, 2008). ISBN: 0-230-60612-1
Anna Politkovskaya, A Small Corner of Hell: Dispatches from Chechnya (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 2007). ISBN: 978-0226674339
Peter Baker and Susan Glasser, Kremlin Rising: Vladimir Putin’s Russia and the End of
Revolution (Potomac Books, 2007 updated edition). ISBN: 978-1597971225
Expectations and Evaluation
To do well in this course, you should attend class regularly, complete readings before the class
for which they are assigned, and participate in class discussions. You will also prepare for and
participate in a simulation of the Russian government’s decision-making process. This will
include writing two short papers. To assess your mastery of course material and concepts, two
exams will be given, a midterm and a final.
Attendance & Participation
Since lectures and discussion will help you to master course concepts, regular attendance
and participation is important. You can earn up to 50 points (approximately 1.85 points
per class) for attending regularly and contributing to class discussion. The level of
preparation for a class may occasionally be assessed through quizzes and other in-class
activities.
Book précis
You will write a short, 3-4 page, précis of one of the books listed above on contemporary
Russia. It will be due November 5 and be worth up to100 points.
Russian Government Simulation & Briefing Papers
The last week of classes, December 10 & 12, we will hold a two-class simulation of the
Russian national government decision-making process. You will be assigned your role as
a member of the Russian government or other significant political figure early in the
semester.
To prepare for the simulation, you will write two short (5-7 pages, double-spaced) papers.
The first will be a profile of your official and the second a briefing paper on an issue area
of concern to your official. The profile of your politician will be due October 1 and the
issue briefing paper will be due November 21. These papers will be shared with all
members of the class on the course eCollege site. Each paper will be worth 100 points.
The simulation itself will involve consideration of critical problems currently facing the
Russian government and the adoption of a resolution or resolutions. The total number of
points for participation in the simulation will be 100 points.
Exams
The exams will be composed of identification, short answer, and essay questions. The
midterm (October 17) will be worth 150 points and the final (December 19) 200 points. I
will distribute a study guide one week before each exam.
Course Grade
The total number of possible points that you can earn on papers, exams, the simulation and
attendance and participation is 800. Your final grade in the course will be based on the
percentage of the 800 points that you earn, using a standard grading scale (93-100% = A, 9092% =A-, 87-89% etc.).
Late Papers and Makeup Exams
Late papers will not be accepted, except in cases of serious illness or family emergency. Should
such a situation arise, contact me immediately and be prepared to provide supporting evidence.
We will then negotiate an alternate due date. Similarly, if you cannot take an exam at the
scheduled time due to illness or emergency, contact me prior to the exam to reschedule.
Academic Dishonesty
Plagiarism – the unacknowledged use of words written by another person as one’s own – is a
violation of the EMU Code of Student Conduct. Any assignment that is plagiarized, even in part,
will result in an E for the assignment. Similarly, cheating on an exam is forbidden and will result
in an E for the exam. Before the first paper is due, I will distribute a handout on how to correctly
cite sources and avoid plagiarism.
Support for Research and Writing: The University Writing Center
The University Writing Center (115 Halle Library; 487-0694) offers one-to-one writing
consulting. Students can make appointments or drop in between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Mondays through Thursdays and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays. Students should bring a
draft of what they’re working on and their assignment sheet. The Academic Projects Center (116
Halle Library) also offers one-to-one writing consulting for students, in addition to consulting on
research and technology-related issues. The APC is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through
Thursdays for drop-in consultations. Additional information about the APC can be found at
http://www.emich.edu/apc.
SCHEDULE OF LECTURES AND READINGS
I.
INTRODUCTION
Whither Russia?
September 5 & 10
Richard Sakwa “Politics in Russia,” in Stephen White and Zvi Gitelman, Developments
in Russian Politics (Duke University Press, 2005), pp.1-17.
Lilia F. Shevtsova, “Dilemmas of Postcommunist Society,” Russian Social Science
Review (May-June 1998), 4-21.
Recommended
Marshall Goldman, Petrostate, Introdution, pp. 1-16.
Peter Baker and Susan Glasser, Kremlin Rising, pp. 1-37.
Historical Approaches and Models of Soviet and Russian Politics
September 12
Alexander Gerschenkron, Economic Backwardness in Historical Perspective
(Cambridge: Harvard University Press), pp. 5-30.
Richard Pipes, “Russia’s past, Russia’s future,” Commentary (June 1996).
Carl J. and Zbigniew Brzezinski, “The Characteristics of Totalitarian Dictatorship,”
in Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy, pp. 15-27.
Recommended
Ledeneva, How Russia Really Works, Ch. 1, “Why Are Informal Practices Still Prevalent
in Russia?”
Robert Tucker, “The Image of Dual Russia,” in The Soviet Political Mind pp. 121-142
Stephen White, Political Culture and Soviet Politics, Chs. 1-3.
William Odom, “Soviet Politics and After: Old and New Concepts,” World Politics
(October 1992), 66-98.
II.
TSARISM, REVOLUTION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOVIET COMMUNISM
From Kievan Rus to the Russian Empire
September 17
Geoffrey Hosking, Russian History: A Very Short Introduction, Ch. 1-4
Revolution and Civil War
September 19
Hosking, Ch. 5
V. I. Lenin, What Is To Be Done? (1902), and The State and Revolution (1917),
selections.
Sheila Fitzpatrick, “The Civil War as a Formative Experience,” in Gleason, Kenez and
Stites, eds. Bolshevik Culture (1985), pp. 57-76.
The New Economic Policy and Revolution from Above
September 24
Hosking, Ch. 6
Moshe Lewin, “The Immediate Background of Soviet Collectivization,” in The Making
of the Soviet System (1985), pp. 91-120
Robert C. Tucker, “Stalinism as Revolution from Above,” in Stalinism: Essays in
Historical Interpretation (1977), pp. 77-108.
Stalin and Stalinism
September 26
Seweryn Bialer, “The Mature Stalinist System,” in Stalin’s Successors (1980), pp. 9-27.
Youngok Kang-Bohr, “Appeals and Complaints: Popular Reactions to the Party Purges
and the Great Terror in the Voronezh Region, 1935-1939,” Europe-Asia Studies 57:1
(January 2005), 135-154.
Recommended
Sheila Fitzpatrick, “Stalin and the Making of a New Elite, 1928-1939,” Slavic Review
(September 1979), 377-402.
Additional recommended reading for Sections I & II
Stephen Cohen. 1973. Bukharin and the Bolshevik Revolution.
Robert Conquest. 1990. The Great Terror: A Reassessment.
Robert V. Daniels, ed. 1990. The Stalin Revolution.
Merle Fainsod. 1958. Smolensk Under Soviet Rule.
Sheila Fitzpatrick. 1999. Everyday Stalinism: Ordinary Life in Extraordinary Times.
Dominic Lieven. 2000. Empire: The Russian Empire and Its Rivals.
Roy A. Medvedev. 1971. Let History Judge.
Barrington Moore, Jr. 1950. Soviet Politics: The Dilemma of Power.
Richard Pipes. 1992, 2nd ed. Rural Russia Under the Old Regime.
Robert C. Tucker. 1971. The Soviet Political Mind.
Robert Tucker. 1973. Stalin as Revolutionary.
****Politician Profile Paper Due, October 1****
III. DE-STALINIZATION, “NORMALIZATION” AND RADICAL REFORM
The Khrushchev and Brezhnev Eras
October 1 & 3
Hosking, Ch. 7 to “The end of the USSR”
W. J. Tompson, “Khrushchev and Gorbachev as Reformers: A Comparison,” British
Journal of Political Science 23 (January 1993), 77- 105.
James Millar, “The Little Deal: Brezhnev’s Contribution to Acquisitive Socialism,”
Slavic Review (Winter 1985), pp.694-706.
Recommended
Carl A. Linden, Khrushchev and the Soviet Leadership, Ch. 1, 2 & 10.
Origins and Goals of Perestroika
October 8
Hosking, Ch. 7 from “The end of the USSR” to “Conclusion”
Mikhail Gorbachev, Perestroika, Ch. 1, “Origins, Essence, Revolutionary Character”
Recommended
Tatyana Zaslavskaya, “The Sociology of Economic Reform,” in The Second Socialist
Revolution (pp. 47-73).
The Gorbachev Reforms
October 10
Stephen White, Understanding Russian Politics, Ch. 1 pp. 1-13 and Ch. 4, pp. 115-128
Recommended
Mikhail Gorbachev, Memoirs, Ch. 14, pp. 278-325.
Bartlomiej Kaminski, “The Institutional Sources of Crisis-Generating Tendencies,” in
The Collapse of State Socialism (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1991),
pp. 3-44.
Goldman, Petrostate, Ch. 2, “WWII to 1987,” pp. 33-54.
The Failure of Perestroika and the Collapse of the Soviet Union
October 15
White, Ch. 1 pp. 13-26
David Remnick, Resurrection, Ch. 1, “The Lost Empire,” pp. 3-36.
Recommended
“Moscow, August 1991: The Coup de Grace,” readings on the coup from Problems of
Communism, (November-December 1991) 1-26, 35-43.
Boris Yeltsin, The Struggle for Russia, Ch. 2-3.
Additional recommended reading for Section III
Anders Aslund. 1993. Gorbachev’s Struggle for Economic Reform, Ch. 1, 2, 7-9
George Breslauer. 1982. Khrushchev and Brezhnev as Leaders.
Theodore H. Friedgut. 1979. Political Participation in the USSR.
Graham Gille. 1995. The Collapse of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
Mikhail S. Gorbachev. 1987. Perestroika: New Thinking For My County and the World.
Lubomyr Hajda and Mark Beissinger, eds. 1990. The Nationalities Factor in Soviet Politics and
Society.
Stephen Kotkin.1991. Steeltown, USSR.
Roy Medvedev. 1970. On Socialist Democracy.
James Millar, ed. 1987. Politics, Work, and Daily Life in the USSR.
Alexander J. Motyl, ed. 1992. The Post-Soviet Nations: Perspectives on the Demise of the USSR.
William Odom. 1998. The Collapse of the Soviet Military.
Robert Sharlet. 1992. Soviet Constitutional Crisis.
Andrei Sinyavsky. 1988. Soviet Civilization: A Cultural History.
Michael Urban. 1997. The Rebirth of Politics in Russia.
*****Midterm Examination*****
October 17
IV. POLITICS AND SOCIETY IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
The Post-communist Condition and the Reconfiguration of the Russian Polity
October 22
Kenneth Jowitt, “The New World Disorder,” in Larry Diamond and Marc F. Plattner,
eds. The Global Resurgence of Democracy (1993).
The Constitution of the Russian Federation (1993)
Recommended
Ledeneva, How Russia Really Works, Ch. 3,“Kompromat: The Use of Compromising
Information in Informal Politics”
Yeltsin, The Struggle for Russia, Ch. 7-9
Lucas, The New Cold War, Introduction, pp. 1-18.
Voters, Elections, and Parties
October 24
White, Ch. 2, pp. 27-62
Chapters by Michael McFaul and Kullberg in Timothy Colton and Jerry Hough, eds. The
1993 Russian Parliamentary Elections (Washington, D. C.: Brookings, 1997).
Recommended
Ledeneva, How Russia Really Works, Ch. 2, “Chernyi Piar: Manipulative Campaigning
and the Workings of Russian Democracy”
Lucas, The New Cold War, Ch. 3, “Sinister Pretense”
Stephen White, Richard Rose and Ian McAllister, How Russia Votes (1997).
The Federal Assembly
October 29
White, Ch. 2, pp. 62-69
Paul Chaisty and Petra Schleiter, “Productive but Not Valued: The Russian State Duma,
1994-2001,” Europe-Asia Studies 54:5 (2002), 701-724.
Something more recent on the Duma?
The Presidency and the Executive Branch
October 31
White, Ch. 3, “Presidential Government”
Elena Semenova, “Ministerial and Parliamentary Elites in an Executive-Dominated
System: Post-Soviet Russia 1991-2009,” Comparative Sociology 10 (2011), 908-927.
Recommended
Lucas, The New Cold War, Ch. 1, “Putin’s Rise to Power” and Ch. 2, “Putin in Power”
Lieven, Chechnya: Tombstone of Russian Power (New Haven: Yale University Press,
2003), pp. 56-146.
***Book Précis Due November 5***
Post-Communist Political Economy
November 5 & 7
White, Ch. 4, pp. 128-161
Anders Aslund, “Why Doesn’t Russia Join the WTO?” The Washington Quarterly 33:2
(2010), 49-63.
Mert Bilgin, “Energy Security and Russia’s Gas Strategy: The Symbiotic Relationship
Between the State and Firms,” Communist and Post-Communist Studies 44 (2011),
119-127.
Recommended
Lucas, The New Cold War, Ch. 4
Goldman, Petrostate, Ch. 3-6
The Resurgence of Russian Civil Society and State-Society Relations
November 12 & 14
Nov. 12
White, Ch. 5, “A Divided Society”
Janet Elise Johnson and Aino Saarinen, “Assessing Civil Society in Putin’s Russia: The
Plight of Women’s Crisis Centers,” Communist and Post-Communist Studies 44
(2011), 41-52.
Nov. 14
Catherine Schuler, “Reinventing the Show Trial: Putin and Pussy Riot,” TDR: The
Drama Review 57:1 (2013), 7-17.
Igor S. Kon, “Russia,” in Sociolegal Control of Homosexuality: A Multi-Nation
Comparison (Plenum Press, 1997), pp. 221-242.
“Grim to be Gay: Human Rights in Russia,” The Economist, August 24, 2013, p. 50.
Laura Lyytikainen, “Gendered and classed activist identity in the Russian oppositional
youth movement,” The Sociological Review 61:3 (2013), 499-524.
Recommended
Lucas, The New Cold War, Ch. 5 “The New Tsarism”
Public Opinion and Values
November 19
White, Chapter 6, “Changing Times, Changing Values”
Judith Kullberg and William Zimmerman, “Liberal Elites, Socialist Masses, and
Problems of Russian Democracy,” World Politics 51: 3 (April 1996), 323-58.
Valeria Kasamara and Anna Sorokina, “Imperial Ambitions of Russians,” Communist
and Post-Communist Studies (2012), 1-10.
***Issue Briefing due, November 21***
Russia in the Post-Cold War World
November 21 & 26
White, Ch. 7, “Russia in the Wider World,” pp. 263-318
R. Craig Nation, “Reset or Rerun? Sources of Discord in Russian-American Relations,”
Communist and Post-Communist Studies (2012), 1-9.
Recommended
Goldman, Petrostate, Ch. 6
Lucas, The New Cold War, Ch. 6 – 8
Valerie Bunce, “Domestic Reform and International Change: the Gorbachev Reforms in
Historical Perspective,” International Organization 47:1 (Winter 1993).
The Trajectory of Political Change in Russia
December 3 & 5
White, Ch. 8, “What Kind of System?”
Hosking, Ch. 7, “Conclusion”
Lilia Shevtsova, “Russia Under Putin: Titanic Looking for Its Iceberg?” Communist and
Post-Communist Studies (2012).
Recommended
Ledeneva, How Russia Really Works, Conclusion
Goldman, Petrostate, Ch. 7
Lucas, The New Cold War, Ch. 9
Russian Government Simulation
December 10 & 12
Additional suggested reading for Section IV
Jan Adams. 1992. A Foreign Policy in Transition.
Anders Aslund. 1995. How Russia Became a Market Economy.
Laura Belin and Robert W. Orttung. 1997. The Russian Parliamentary Elections of 1995.
Joseph Blasi, et al. 1997. Kremlin Capitalism: Privatizing the Russian Economy.
Timothy J. Colton and Robert C. Tucker, eds. 1995. Patterns in Post-Soviet Leadership.
Timothy J. Colton. 2000. Transitional Citizens: Voters and What Influences Them in the New
Russia.
Stephen Fish. 1995. Democracy from Scratch.
Clifford Gaddy. 1996. The Price of the Past: Russia’s Struggle with the Legacy of a Militarized
Economy.
Marshall Goldman. 1994. Lost Opportunity: Why Economic Reforms in Russia Have Not
Worked.
Marshall Goldman, 2008. Petrostate: Putin, Power, and the New Russia.
Eugene Huskey. 1999. Presidential Power in Russia.
David Lane. 1999. The Transition from Communism to Capitalism: Ruling Elites from
Gorbachev to Yeltsin.
Alena V. Ledeneva. 2006. How Russia Really Works: The Informal Practices That Shaped PostSoviet Politics and Business.
Edward Lucas, The New Cold War: Putin’s Russia and the Threat to the West.
Alexander Litvinenko and Yuri Felshtinsky. 2007. Blowing Up Russia.
Ellen Mickiewicz. 1999. Changing Channels: Television and the Struggle for Power in Russia.
Susan Richards. 2010. Lost and Found in Russia: Lives in the Post-Soviet Landscape
Anna Politkovskya. 2004. Putin’s Russia: Life in a Failing Democracy.
Anna Politkovskaya. 2007. A Small Corner of Hell: Dispatches from Chechnya
Lilia F. Shevtsova. 1999. Yeltsin's Russia: From Myth to Reality.
Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan. 2010. The New Nobility: The Restoration of Russia’s
Security State and the Enduring Legacy of the KGB.
***Final Examination***
Thursday, December 19, 11:30-1:00 p.m.