Former Communist Countries,
the USSR, and Russia
Former/Current Communist
Countries
What countries?
 USSR
 Eastern European Satellites
 Yugoslavia
 China
 2nd echelon: Romania, Bulgaria, Albania
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4 Key Questions
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Processes: How are decisions made in the
Commy world?
Policies: What are their public policies?
Context: What contemporary/historical domestic
and international factors shape development?
Performance: What are the outcomes of
policies?
Hauss: Before we do any of this, we must realize
that conventional political science goes out the
window, and we treat the Communist world with
a “healthy dose of skepticism.”
Karl Marx
Misunderstood in U.S.
 Saw situation in 19th Cty. Europe, deemed it “subhuman;” really
a humanist
 From a wealthy German Jewish family
 Moved from GermanyFranceUK, met Friedrich Engels in
Paris, Marx impressed
 Wrote “The Communist Manifesto,” “Das Kapital”: History is a
process of class conflict over the distribution of economic
power.
 The “State” e.g. bureaucracy, police, army protects the “haves”
(bourgeoisie) over the “have-nots” (proletariat)
 Religion= opium of the masses, creates false hopes and
expectations
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More Marx
Capitalism is exploitative; creates
inequalityalienationclass consciousness
 2 things help class consciousness develop: mass
education and political freedom
 Elections are a survival strategy of the bourgeoisie
 Assumes worldwide revolution will be self-supporting,
but Marx forgot about nationalism (laborers in Italy
not necessarily similar to those in France)
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Vladimir Lenin (1917-1924) and the
1917 Revolutions
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Actually 2 revolutions in 1917
1st: Provisional government led by Kerensky after Czar Nicholas II abdicates
2nd: Communist “October Revolution,” but happened 11/9/17.
Second one broke the “rules;” supposed to go from feudalism capitalism
communism
Marx: Revolution required to establish equality, proletariat overthrows
bourgeoisie, BUT ONLY AFTER TIME
Lenin: Revolution can be encouraged, promoted by “professional
revolutionary vanguard”
Developed New Economic Policy (NEP) which actually encouraged capitalism
so the Communists could establish communism
About 300 members from the Central Committee, meets twice a year and
chooses the Politburo.
Politburo—about 12 members, standing executive, ran the country on a dayto-day basis
Politburo became the key decision-making organization. Made up of
nomenklatura (political/economic elite)
Head of Politburo: General Secretary
Joseph Stalin (1924-1953)
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1st goal: Defeat Leon Trotsky for party leadership after Lenin
died
Mission: Make USSR powerful
NEP replaced with collective farms, private ownership banned.
Kulaks protest and die.
Consolidated power by killing subordinates like Kirov (1934)
At what cost? 20,000,000+ lives
“Five Year Plans” set ambitious goals for heavy industry: oil,
steel, electricity.
Gosplan, state planning committee, carries out others 5 year
plans.
Industrialization at any cost—terror state
Show Trials: Kamenev, Zinoviev, military leaders
Signed Non-Aggression Pact with Germany, 1939
Continued purges after war
Communist Party Organization
Truman “loses China” in 1949
Mao Tse-Tung’s Communists defeat
Chiang Kai-shek
 Mao applies Marxism within the context of
China
 Revolution begins with peasants, not
workers
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The Illusion of Socialist Harmony
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1948: Yugoslavia bucks USSR leadership under
Marshal Tito
1956: Revolution suppressed in Hungary, 20000
Hungarians killed
1958: China (Taiwan, India-China conflict):
USSR does not come to rescue, will not provide
nuclear weapons
Early 1980s: Solidarity movement in Poland
(result of exposure to civil society, labor
movement)
1989: System demise as Yugoslavian republics
fight for independence
Yugoslavia
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Tito dies in 1980, no charismatic leader replaces him
3-4 leaders control Consul of Leadership
Break up in 1989-90
Slovenia & Croatia—”We’re prosperous, we want
independence
Germany 1st to recognize Croatia
Serbia claims rest of Yugoslavia is under their control
Bosnia-Herzegovina: hotbed of diversity. 3 ethnic
groups, all hate each other and none dominant (31%
Serb 45% Muslim 16% Croat). 1995 Dayton Accord
Macedonia: Independent
Kosovo, Vojvodina: autonomous (Kosovo ethnically
Cold War
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Capitalist and socialist ideological conflict fought
over third-party turf
1948 Arab-Israeli-Palestinian War
1956 Suez Crisis
Conflicts in Vietnam, Angola
Begins to unravel with détente, Berlin Wall falls
in 1989
Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia break away in 1991
Cold War over, but..disturbing trends
1995: Poles didn’t reelect Walesa
Communists big winner in Russian Duma
GDP and Population Data
Russia
The Russian Federation
Cold climate; 50N latitude and above
 Pop: 141 million (-0.3%/year)
 76% Urban, 79.8% “Russian”
 Poor ($12,240 GNP per capita)
 82% speaks Russian. Ethnic diversity has role in politics
 Literacy: 99% men, 97% women
 Extremely rich in minerals, oil, gas, timber, gold, iron
 Lacks capital and technical expertise to use resources
 Life expectancy: 64.4 (men 59/women 73)
 Health crisis: 1/5 children healthy, death rate up 20%
since ’92, Russia budgets <1% of its budget for health
(USA 12%)
 Heart disease, cancer rates very high
 ECHR member but not EU member, abolished death
penalty!
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Russian History
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1682-1725: Peter the Great travels to Europe, builds navy
1762-1796: Catherine the Great, enlightened despot
1854-56: Russia loses Crimean War
1861: Serfs freed by Alexander II
1904-05: War with Japan, Revolution #1 and Constitution
1914: Russia enters WWI to help Serbia, Triple Entente obligations
1917: Revolution, Czar overthrown, October Bolshevik Revolution, Peace of BrestLitovsk
1919-1920: Russian Civil War between “reds” and “whites”—”reds” win
1924: Lenin dies
1924-53: Stalin in power, 30 million killed in war/opposition
1939-45: World War II, aka “Great Patriotic War.” 1941-45: Russia allied w/US&UK
1953:Khrushchev promotes “peaceful coexistence,” makes “secret speech”
1955: Warsaw Pact
1962: Cuban Missile Crisis
1964: Brezhnev boots out Khrushchev
Modern Russian History
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1979: Invasion of Afghanistan—Soviet “Vietnam”
1984 and 1985: Andropov, Chernenko die
1985: Gorbachev becomes Premier of USSR
1991: Yeltsin takes over, Russian Federation formed,
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) formed
1993: New Constitution
1999/2000: Yeltsin resigns, Vladimir Putin becomes
President, elected 3 mos. later
2004: Putin re-elected, Beslan School Massacre
2008: Medvedev elected; Putin appointed Prime Minister
Recent History—Chechen
Terrorism
Moscow theatre hostage crisis, 2002
 Beslan School Massacre, 2004
 2010 Moscow Metro bombings
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Moscow Theater Hostage Crisis
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The
Moscow theatre hostage crisis, also known as the 2002 Nord-Ost
siege,[1] was the seizure of a crowded Moscow theatre on 23 October 2002 by some
40 to 50 armed Chechens who claimed allegiance to the Islamist militant separatist
movement in Chechnya. They took 850 hostages and demanded the withdrawal of
Russian forces from Chechnya and an end to the Second Chechen War. The siege
was officially led by Movsar Barayev. After a two-and-a-half day siege, Russian
Spetsnaz forces pumped an unknown chemical agent (thought to be fentanyl, 3methylfentanyl), into the building's ventilation system and raided it.[1]
Officially, 39 of the attackers were killed by Russian forces, along with at least 129
and possibly many more of the hostages (including nine foreigners). All but a few[2]
of the hostages who died during the siege were killed by the toxic substance pumped
into the theatre to subdue the militants.[3][4] The use of the gas was "widely
condemned as heavy handed". Physicians in Moscow "condemned the secrecy
surrounding the identity of the gas" that prevented them from saving more lives.[5]
Roughly, 170 people died in all.
Beslan School Massacre
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The Beslan school hostage crisis (also referred to as the Beslan school siege or Beslan massacre)[2][3][4] was a three day hostagetaking of over 1,100 people which ended in the deaths of over 300. It began when a group of armed mostly Ingush and Chechen terrorists
took more than 1,100 people (including 777 children[5]) hostage on 1 September 2004, at School Number One (SNO) in the town of
Beslan, North Ossetia, an autonomous republic in the North Caucasus region of the Russian Federation. The hostage taking was carried out
by a group sent by the Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, which issued demands of an end to the Second Chechen War. On the third day
of the standoff, Russian security forces stormed the building, using tanks, flamethrower rockets, and other heavy weapons.[6] A series of
explosions shook the school, followed by a fire which engulfed the building and a chaotic gunbattle between the hostage-takers and
Russian security forces. Ultimately, at least 334 hostages were killed, including 186 children;[7][8] hundreds more were injured and many
were reported missing.
The tragedy led to security and political repercussions in Russia, most notably a series of federal government reforms consolidating power
in the Kremlin and strengthening of the powers of the President of Russia.[9] According to American NGO Freedom House, these reforms
consolidated Russia as a politically non-free, authoritarian state since the mid-2000s.[10][11]
Russian President Vladimir Putin reappeared publicly during a hurried trip to the Beslan hospital in the early hours of September 4 to see
several of the wounded victims in his only visit to Beslan.[113] He was later criticised for not meeting the families of victims.[104] After
returning to Moscow, he ordered a two-day period of national mourning for September 6 and September 7, 2004. In his televised speech
Putin paraphrased Joseph Stalin saying: "We showed ourselves to be weak. And the weak get beaten."[45] On the second day of mourning,
an estimated 135,000 people joined a government-organised rally against terrorism on the Red Square in Moscow.[114] An estimated
40,000 people gathered in Saint Petersburg's Palace Square.[115]
In the wake of Beslan, the government proceeded to toughen laws on terrorism and expand the powers of law enforcement agencies.[9]
Increased security measures were introduced to Russian cities. More than 10,000 people without proper documents were detained by
Moscow police in a "terrorist hunt". Colonel Magomet Tolboyev, a cosmonaut and Hero of the Russian Federation, was beaten in the street
in Moscow because of his Chechen-sounding name.[116][117] The Russian public appeared to be generally supportive of increased security
measures. A September 16, 2004 Levada-Center poll found 58% of Russians supporting stricter counter-terrorism laws and the death
penalty for terrorism, while 33% would support banning all Chechens from entering Russian cities.[118][119]
In addition, Vladimir Putin signed a law which replaces the direct election of the heads of the federal subjects of Russia with a system
whereby they are proposed by the President of Russia and approved or disapproved by the elected legislative power bodies of the federal
subjects.[120] The election system for the Russian Duma was also repeatedly amended, eliminating the election of State Duma members by
single-mandate districts.[121] The Kremlin consolidated its control over the Russian media and increasingly attacked the non-governmental
organizations (especially those foreign-founded). Critics allege that the Putin's circle of siloviki used the Beslan crisis as an excuse to
increase their grip on Russia.[122] On September 16, 2004, the United States Secretary of State Colin Powell said that Russia was pulling
back on democratic reforms.
Historical Influences on
Russian Political Tradition
Absolute, centralized rule (tsars held
absolute power)
 Extensive cultural heterogeneity (#1
cleavage in Russia)
 Slavophile v. Westernizer debate
 20th Century Revolutions
 Orthodox religion—today trying to reemerge, tiny religious minorities
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The Gorbachev Era (1985-91)
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Reforms:
Perestroika—economic restructuring
Glasnost—political reforms/openness
Gorbachev caught between liberals and
hardliners—neither got what they wanted
Embraced pragmatist foreign policy
Acknowledged inefficiency and corruption of
Soviet government
August ’91 coup; failed because few Soviet
people supported it, Yeltsin stepping on tank,
armed forces split, int’l pressure opposed
coup
Boris Yeltsin (1991-99)
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President of Russian Federation 1991present; took over after USSR
disintegrated
Called for open revolt against Leninism
via “shock therapy”
Asked for unrestricted foreign
investment
Privatized 70% of government retail
commerce and services, rapidly
encouraged reform to market system
Land given to peasants as private
property
State/collective farms dissolved
Political freedoms to all minorities &
ethnic groups
Weakened Communist Party (as did
Gorbachev)
Vladimir Putin
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Ex-KGB agent
Prime Minister, 1999-2000
Became President, 2000, elected 2000
and re-elected 2004
Strongly went after Chechens, 1999present (good and bad reasons)
Went after oligarchs that threatened him
politically—including some like Berezovsky
that supported his rise
Arrested Khodorkovsky (Yukos owner)—
put him in cage for trial
Probably behind the polonium poisoning
of ex-FSB member and journalist
Alexander Litvenenko and shooting death
of Anna Politkovskaya (Chechnya writer)
Putin’s Authoritarian Actions,
2000-2008
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Created 7 federal districts with Presidential envoys/plenipotentiaries that report directly to the President,
2000. CREATED “POWER VERTICAL”—oversee federal implementation (good and bad reasons)
President now appoints all regional governors, who are confirmed by regional legislatures
Eliminated “AGAINST ALL” option on Russian ballots
Governors don’t serve in Federation Council anymore—newly appointed pro-Putin governors choose 1 of
the 2 representatives—giving the President control of the FC
Moved Constitutional Court to St. Petersburg from Moscow to limit judiciary influence
Got Duma to pass electoral reform in 2007—switched from Mixed-Member proportional to fully proportional
Duma elections with 7% threshold to kill small parties
Created “Potemkin Parties” like “Just Russia” to dilute the vote even further—these parties and candidates
secretly support Putin but draw votes from other parties, keeping them under the threshold
Restricted media through censorship and threats—took over TV6 and NTV, also newspapers
Created a dominant party (United Russia)
Gary Kasparov and “Other Russia” cracked down on—demonstrations limited
Parties must register. To do so, they must have 50,000 members (it used to be 10,000), and gather
200,000 signatures to actually run
Candidates removed from ballot for minor, technical reasons
2006 NGO registration law restricted NGO’s abilities to operate
PUPPETEER with Medvedev—his handpicked successor
Stepped up arrest of Chechens in Moscow
Uses Nashi to further “Cult of Personality”
Building a Cult of Personality:
“A Man Like Putin”/ Nashi
A Man Like Putin
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I want a man like Putin,
who's full of strength. I
want a man like Putin,
who doesn't drink. I want
a man like Putin, who
won't make me sad.
http://vodpod.com/watch
/2813828-sound-tracksmusic-without-borders-aman-like-putin-pbs
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=YR3kW0p32cc
NASHI
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Every summer, Nashi runs recruiting
camps all across Russia. New members
watch propaganda films and receive
basic military-style training, according
to Nashi leader Vasily Yakimenko.
In July 2007, Nashi's annual camp
located 200 miles outside Moscow was
attended by over 10,000 Nashi
members. Some reports mention the
use of the camp to improve Russia's
demographics, where twenty tents
were set up in order to allow twenty
newlywed couples to sleep together.
Dmitri Medvedev
President 2008-present
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Putin’s successor
Jammed through
extension of Presidential
term to 6 yrs and
eliminated 2 term limit
(2009—fastest
amendment in Russian
Constitutional history)
The 1993 Constitution
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Borrows from France, USA, Germany
Multiparty system
Bicameral Parliament
Multipolar points of power: Head of Duma, Director of
Federation Council
Creates strong presidency: Elected directly, not partydominated
2-ballot system.
President most significant locus of power. President may
disband Parliament (unlike old Soviet Constitution)
3 types of votes allowed: referendum (Yeltsin job
performance), Duma elections, Presidential elections
4 Types of Russian Subdivisions
21 Republics, ethnic enclaves
 52 Oblasts (regions) mostly populated by
Russians
 6 Krais (Territories)
 10 autonomous districts called Okrugs
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83 regions now—some consolidated
The Russian Parliament
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State Duma (450)
All 450 elected by
proportional
representation
Must pass 7%
threshold to get any
representation
Putin changed MMP to
PR and upped 5% limit
to 7% (2007)
Passes bills
Approves budget
Confirms Presidential
nominees to Cabinet**
Can vote no confidence
in a Cabinet
Can override
Presidential veto with
2/3 majority
5 year term as of 2009
Amendments
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Federation Council (178)--2 members from 89 regions; 1
chosen by legislatures, 1 by governor, subject to approval
Special powers accorded only to the Federation Council are:
Approval of changes in borders between subjects of the
Russian Federation;
Approval of a decree of the President of the Russian
Federation on the introduction of martial law;
Approval of a decree of the President of the Russian
Federation on the introduction of a state of emergency;
Deciding on the possibility of using the Armed Forces of the
Russian Federation outside the territory of the Russian
Federation;
Declaring of elections of the President of the Russian
Federation;
Impeachment of the President of the Russian Federation;
appointment of judges of the Constitutional Court of the
Russian Federation, of the Supreme Court of the Russian
Federation, of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian
Federation;
Appointment and dismissal of the Attorney General of the
Russian Federation;
Appointment and dismissal of Deputy Chairman and half of
the auditors of the Accounting Chamber.
Russian Dual Executive
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President: Dmitri Medvedev
Recent movements against full democracy: Regional governors now
appointed and must be confirmed by the regional legislatures
Putin (2000-2008):
Cracked down on Muslim, independence-desiring Chechnya, especially after
Beslan (350 dead)
Powers:
1) Appoint PM and Cabinet
2) Issue decrees with the force of law
3) Dissolve the Duma
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Prime Minister: Vladimir Putin
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PMs must be confirmed by the Duma
3 rejections=President can dissolve Duma (even if same person all 3 times)
Death or incapicitation of President: PM assumes duties, elections within 3
mos. (12/31/99—Yeltsin/Putin)
Russian Presidential Election,
March 2000
Vladimir Putin, Unity Party 53%
 Gennady Zyuganov, Communist 29%
 Grigory Yavlinksky, Yabloko 5.8%
 Vladimir Zhironovsky, Lib Dem 2.7%
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Not completely fair or free but better than before
 No run-off required due to Putin > 50%
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Russian Presidential Election
2004
Putin 71%
 Kharitonov (CPRF) 14%
 Against All 3.5%
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2008 Russian Presidential
Election
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Candidates Nominating parties Votes %
Dmitry Medvedev United Russia, Agrarian Party, Fair Russia,
Russian Ecological Party - "The Greens" and Civilian Power. 52,530,712
70.28%
Gennady Zyuganov Communist Party of the Russian Federation 13,243,550
17.72 %
Vladimir Zhirinovsky Liberal Democratic Party of Russia 6,988,510
9.35 %
Andrei Bogdanov Democratic Party of Russia 968,344
1.30%
Invalid ballots 1,015,533 1.35%
What are the goals of the French and
Russian Presidential Election Systems?
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Popular legitimacy
Popular mandate
Prevent electoral/institutional gridlock
Policy leadership
Independence from legislature
Stability
Strong Executive
Inclusion of a wide range of parties
National unity
Encourages coalition building among the electorate
Increases voter turnout, hopefully decreases apathy
and increases efficacy
Russian Judiciary
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Constitutional Court—19 judges--determines
Constitutionality of laws, appointed by President and
confirmed by Federation Council
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Supreme Court—hears appeals for civil, criminal, and
administrative cases, oversees lower courts
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Supreme Arbitration Court—ECN/BUS matters
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All regions but Chechnya: Trial by jury by 2007
Political Parties in Russia
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Multiparty system represents wide range of ideological viewpoints
30 parties, 5 with substantial following
United Russia (Putin’s party, won 221 of 450 Duma seats in 2003). Put
together by Boris Berezovsky to support Putin in 2000. Pro-Putin, no clear
ideology
Communists—2nd strongest, 12.6% of vote, 51 seats in Duma. Gennady
Zyuganov is leader.
Reform Parties:
Yabloko—leader Grigory Yavlinski, strong pro-Democracy stance. 4 Duma
seats, only 4.4% of vote, no PR seats
Union of Right Forces—”right in understanding truth”: backs privatization,
only 3 seats
Radical dangerous parties:
Liberal Democrats (Zhironovksy’s party, extremist/Communist): 11% of vote,
37 seats.
Russian Political Culture: Influences
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Geography: ethnic diversity, borders vastly different
countries with different political cultures and customs.
Historical need for warm water ports
Eastern Orthodoxy: Western countries had
Renaissance, Reformation, Scientific Revolution,
Enlightenment, separation of church and state, and
spheres of privacy free from control of the state (civil
society). Russia didn’t.
Equality of Results (impacts development of
capitalism)
Hostility towards the government (despite obeisance)
Importance of nationality (discrimination common—
Baltic people “civil,” Muslim-Turks “barbaric”)
Political Culture and
Participation
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Personalized parties of the early years of Russian Federation have almost
disappeared
United Russia, a party of power, has established itself to survive elections and
leadership changes
Just Russia, fake competition created by the power elite, will not contest for real
power
Another Russia not being allowed to emerge
Communist Party of the Russian Federation is a nationalistic, social democratic (selflabeled) party that is a nation-wide organization losing support everywhere
Yabloko is a reformist party favoring democracy and a social welfare system that is
also losing support
Union of Right Forces is a reformist party favoring drastic economic restructuring
which is also losing popularity
Liberal Democrats are an anti-Semitic, super nationalistic party that earns headlines
more easily than votes
Russian Internal Problems
Oligarchs: Wild fortunes amassed under Yeltsin,
Putin has cracked down some--Berezovsky now
in exile, Khodorvsky (Yukos) arrested, Yukos
taxed into bankruptcy
 Russian mafia—”protection money,” money
laundering, murder bankers, businessmen,
Duma members
 Russian media—Putin has suppressed some
freedom of the press. NTV, only independent
TV channel, taken over.
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Russian Political Culture
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#1: DESIRE FOR ORDER & STABILITY--STATISM
Russians will take a while to adapt to free market
(Spanish and Germans have learned)
Democracy weak; “kleptocracy”
State has been unable to improve living conditions,
leads to pessimism about democracy now
Some Russians still hostile towards West
(Zhironovsky)
Nostalgia for old Soviet military
Voter turnout 65% in 2004 election—100% under
Soviets
Russian/Soviet Foreign Policy
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Chechnya problem: want them recognized as
terrorists
South Ossetia conflict, 2008
Don’t like NATO expansion or US missile
defense, recently accepted as a NATO “partner”
DétenteEntente
CIS relations still important
Meddling in Ukraine elections, 2004
G-8 member
Bidding to join WTO
Learning Objectives
After mastering the concepts presented in this chapter, you will be able to:

Comprehend the development of communist doctrine and ideology in Europe.

Differentiate among and define the following: Marxism, Leninism, Stalinism,
Totalitarianism

Comprehend political and economic doctrines of Karl Marx on communism and
class exploitation.

Define Marxist theory and explain the following notions and terms: Historical
materialism, Dialectics, Proletarian revolution

Understand the role of Russian Revolution in 1917 in the development of
communist regimes in Eastern Europe and beyond.

Comparatively define socialism and communism.

Understand the notion of totalitarian regime and totalitarian form of
governance.
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Assess major differences between the command and free market economies.

Comparatively analyze similarities and differences between the USSR and the
People’s Republic of China in managing economy and political process under
communist ideology and party system.
Learning Objectives
After mastering the concepts presented in this chapter, you will be able to:

Recognize the role of Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong in the process
of communist state formation and development.

Discuss the structure of the Communist Party and government institutions in the
Soviet Union. Define the following terms: Nomenklatura, Central Committee,
Politburo, General Secretary

Understand the role of Mikhail Gorbachev in the process of party, state and
ideological reformation in the USSR. Define the following terms: Glasnost,
Perestroika

Recognize factors that contribute to the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern
Europe and the Soviet Union.
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Identify challenges of post-communist democratization in Eastern Europe.

Define social and political, including of revolutionary character movements in
Hungary, Romania, Soviet Union, Poland and other countries against communism.

Recognize the process of the USSR disintegration.

Discuss the implications of the shock therapy in post-communist countries.

Identify remaining communist regimes and discuss their political, economic and
social challenges.
Learning Objectives
After mastering the concepts presented in this chapter, you will be able to:
 Understand key factors of the historical formation of the Russian state in 19-20th centuries.
 Comprehend the development of communist doctrine and ideology in Russia.
 Define key elements of the 1917 revolutions in Russia. Define the following:
 Provisional Government
 Bolsheviks
 Mensheviks
 Vladimir Lenin
 Define Russian diversity, geography and current economic challenges.
 Understand the process of political, economic and social developments of the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
 Discuss the role of Joseph Stalin in the history of the USSR.
 Understand the necessity of creating the Comintern by Vladimir Lenin.
 Comprehend the impact of the following Soviet leaders on the political development of the
USSR: Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev, Constantine Chernenko, Mikhail Gorbachev
 Recognize the structure of the Communist Party and government institutions in the Soviet
Union. Define the following terms: Central Committee, Politburo, Secretariat, Nomenklatura
Learning Objectives
After mastering the concepts presented in this chapter, you will be able to:
 Understand the role of Mikhail Gorbachev in the process of party, state and ideological
reformation in the USSR.
 Comprehend Gorbachev’s doctrines of perestroika, glasnost and democratization.
 Define and differentiate between the 1991 and the 1993 coups in the USSR and the
Russian Federation.
 Discuss the implications of the shock therapy and privatization in Russia.
 Identify patterns of political culture, civil society participation and party affiliation
among Russian voters in 1990s.
 Understand Russia’s electoral system and its impact on the development of the political
system.
 Define the role of political parties in the elections and differentiate among the following
political parties: Yabloko, United Russia, Just Russia, Liberal Democrats, Union of Right
Forces
 Understand the composition of the Russian federal state.
 Comprehend the challenging process of the development of Russian economy.
 Discuss the role of oligarchs in the Russian political and economic development.