Russian politics and society / Richard Sakwa.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sakwa, Richard

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Russia (Federation)--Politics and government--1991-.

Russia (Federation).

Politics and government.

Post-communism--Russia (Federation).

Post-communism.

Former Soviet republics--Politics and government.

Former Soviet republics.

Post-communism--Former Soviet republics.

Physical Description:

xix, 585 pages : maps ; 25 cm

Edition:

Fourth edition, Fully revised and updated.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Routledge, 2008.

Summary:

Having been fully revised and updated to reflect the considerable changes in Russia over the last decade, the fourth edition of this classic text builds on the strengths of the previous editions to provide a comprehensive and sophisticated analysis of Russian politics and society.

In this edition, Richard Sakwa seeks to evaluate the evidence in a balanced and informed way, denying simplistic assumptions about the inevitable failure of the democratic experiment in Russia while avoiding facile generalisations on the inevitable triumph of global integration and democratisation. New to this edition: Extended coverage of electoral laws, party development and regional politics, New chapter on the 'phoney democracy' period, 1991-3, Historical evaluation of Yeltsin's leadership, Full coverage of Putin's presidency, Discussion of the development of civil society and the problems of democratic consolidation, Latest developments in the Chechnya conflict, More on foreign policy issues such as Russia's relationship with NATO and the EU after enlargement, Russia's relations with other post-Soviet states and the problem of competing 'near abroads' for Russia and the West, The re-introduction of the Russian constitution as an appendix, An updated select bibliography, More focus on the challenges facing Russia in the twenty-first century.

Written in an accessible and lively style, this book is packed with detailed information on the central debates and issues in Russia's difficult transformation. This makes it the best available textbook on the subject and essential reading for all those concerned with the fate of Russia, and with the future of international society.

Contents:

Glossary of acronyms, acrostics and terms xvii

Part I The fall of communism and the rebirth of Russia 1

1 Soviet communism and its dissolution 3

The Soviet system 4

Perestroika 9

The emergence of Russia 15

Popular insurgency and regime decay 19

2 The disintegration of the USSR 25

The August coup 25

The disintegration of the USSR 28

Problems of state-building 35

3 Phoney democracy, 1991-3 40

Phoney democracy: the road to October 1993 40

Genesis of a tragedy 47

The troubled path to the constitution 53

Part II Political institutions and processes 61

4 Constitutionalism and the law 63

The 1993 constitution 63

The Constitutional Court 70

The legal system and its reform 72

Law and constitutionalism 79

5 Crime, corruption and security 83

Crime and the mafia 83

Corruption, meta-corruption and anti-corruption 86

The security apparatus and politics 96

Human and civil rights 102

6 The executive 105

The presidency 105

The government 113

Prime ministers and their policies 116

Public administration: from nomenklatura to civil service 125

7 Party development 128

Stages of party development 128

Normative framework of party development 141

The party system today 144

Problems of social representation 149

8 Electoral politics 160

Founding elections and electoral management 160

The electoral system and its reform 162

The experience of elections 169

Direct democracy: referendums 183

Electoral engagement 185

9 The legislature 188

Elections to the State Duma 188

Organisation 192

Role 194

The Federation Council (FC) 197

Part III Nationalism, federalism and regionalism 205

10 National identity and state-building 207

From empire to state 207

Russian nationalism and national identity 213

State-building: borders and citizenship 226

11 Federalism and the new state 236

Ethno-federalism and its legacy 236

Russian federalism 245

12 Segmented regionalism and the new federalism 255

Segmented regionalism 255

Putin's 'new federalism' 266

Segmented regionalism and asymmetrical federalism 281

Part IV Economy and society 285

13 Russian capitalism 287

The road to the market 287

The Russian economy today 299

Evaluation of market reform 310

14 Society and social movements 314

Social structure and dynamics 314

Welfare and incomes 325

Social movements 330

Para-constitutionalism and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) 341

15 Cultural transformation 345

The media 345

Culture and the intelligentsia 349

Religion and the state 352

Political culture and public opinion 354

The reshaping of values 359

Part V Foreign, security and neighbourhood policy 363

16 Foreign policy 365

The evolution of foreign policy 365

The structure of policy-making 372

The debate over foreign policy 376

Russia and the world 382

17 Defence and security policy 392

The end of the Soviet armed forces 392

The great retreat 397

Military and security doctrines 399

Nuclear politics and non-proliferation 402

Military reform 405

Civil-military relations 408

New security paradigms 412

18 Commonwealth, community and fragmentation 420

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) 420

Regional organisations 434

Part VI Dilemmas of democratisation 441

19 Problems of transition 443

The challenge of history 443

Transitional justice 448

Models of transition 451

20 Democracy in Russia 463

Problems of democracy 463

Regime politics 466

Leadership and regime change 470

A struggling democracy? 473

Appendix The Russian constitution 478.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [567]-571) and index.

ISBN:

9780415415279

0415415276

9780415415286

0415415284

9780203931257

0203931254

OCLC:

165082429

Online:

Publisher description