Chapter 12 Russia – Flashcards

-sets major policy, implements through admin. -dissolves Parliament & calls for new elections (exc. in special cases) -signs or vetoes legislation -decrees laws -does not require confidence of Parliament -appoints PM, deputy PM & ministers (no need for ratification) -power ministries report directly to president -gives or denies confidence -appoints Supreme Court Justices -no checks & balances or division of power- all president -weak legislature, undefined judicial branch, and broad powers -executive controls security forces, foreign affairs, defense, and economy

-president of Russian Federation since May 2012 -served as head of state for two terms (2000-2008) prior to 2012, stepping away and serving as PM for four years while Medvedev was president: still was incredibly powerful as PM, controlled elections -prior to 2000, served as Yeltsin's head of FSB, Secretary of Security Council, and later his PM -expanded presidential power: weak parties and limited Parliament unable to stop growth

-lower, more powerful house of legislative branch (Parliament/Federal Assembly) -originates legislation -controls budget -can dissolve president -passes bills but controlled by United Russia -overrides Council of F (2/3) -overrides veto (2/3) -configures president appointments (like PM) -2x no confidence forces president to dissolve gov't/Parliament -one of the only institutions that can threaten president's power -like House of Reps (pop. representation, chosen by people) Council of Duma: -one rep from each party -sets legislative agenda -brokers Duma compromises

-upper, less powerful house of legislative branch (Parliament/Federal Assembly) -like Senate: but president chooses governor and the governor then chooses one council member (someone Putin wants, controls roughly 50% of seats) -ratifies legislation -overrides veto (2/3) -2 dept. for each unit: 1 executive rep, 1 legislative rep -special prerogatives -configures justices (Supreme & Constitutional Court) -approves decrees -focuses on foreign and regional policies

-Dual Transition -transition to capitalism and democracy at the same time at a rapid pace: Russia had no history of this and could not possibly escape the cultural and economic collapse that followed -led by Yeltsin

-elected in 1991 after Gorbachev -caused political confrontation in 1992 due to his economic reform programs (either supported by reformers or criticized by opposition groups, calling it economic genocide) -weak leadership doomed democratic growth -called for new parliamentary elections in 1993 which caused an uprising Constitution of 1993: allowed 3 separate branches of gov't and federal division of gov't but made president the strongest institution -created superpresident

-moved to strengthen political base and reform the top-heavy, unresponsive, corrupt Soviet Union that could not modernize the economy or improve living standards -called for democratization and capitalism & growth of social/political associations through reform programs -wanted to convert Soviet Union to law governed state: respecting law over politics and functioning through rule of law rather than corruption. Russia still struggles with this -destroyed nuclear missiles w/ USA -communism in Eastern Europe collapsed, Russia's communist party crumbled -he did not intend for the demise of the USSR -formed federal union (weaker central gov't) to counter Yeltsin's popularity, but he was arrested and power was extremely weakened -end of cold war (1945-1991)

-the need for greater openness in society, promoting Russia's trade relationships/communication with the West and USA -stressed the economic well-being of system & its people

-called for restructuring Russia internally (USSR) -posed larger problem for Gorbachev to achieve

-shock therapy: caused lack of trust in Western ideals like capitalism, currency became worthless -1993 to 1997 failure -Chechnya: declared independence in 1991 and overturned by force in 1994. This led to violent attacks ceasing in 1996 and reoccurring in 1999. This rebellion transitioned to a radical terrorist movement -Loans for Shares/oligarchs: business workers who were connected to gov't convinced Yeltsin to auction off management rights to shares of state-owned businesses in return for gov't loans. Became an unsustainable debt trap and allowed certain oligarchs to become massively wealthy, not creating a free market economy

-vast, massive country where it's size impacts it's culture, history, gov't, and economy greatly -can fit two U.S. in Russia -neither European nor Asian country: somewhat isolated culturally being Eastern, very different from neighbors w/ a mix of ancient cultures of both West and East origin -antagonistic to West w/ old cold war tensions

-Russia does not a have substantial time period using a democratic system -1917: Tsarist Regime (which lasted since 13th century, including feudalism since 1860s) ended and it seemed like Russia was leaning toward becoming more democratic -under Lenin, Communist Revolution took place and moved away from democracy -under Stalin, he continued Communism through WW2 and change was not probable -under Yeltsin, shock therapy method completely ended Russia's ability to successfully move from Communism to modern state -had difficulties b/c it has a long history of dictatorships and individual autocrats that hinder proper democratic transition

-used violence and military power to his advantage -altered the constitution in order to lengthen the pres. term limit to six years, conveniently after Medvedev ended his fourth year -Putin uses Russia's theft-centered gov't to expand his power/wealth -he is head of the dominant party and the court system does not have a rule of law that leaves his power generally protected

-essentially a double failure because Russia was not ready to transition to both capitalism and democracy -Russians now view democracy as only a source of problems and causes them to associate failure with democratization/capitalism- ideas of West -its long term impacts affect how Russian view their political system: respect and admire Putin's leadership b/c he pulled them out of economic collapse and replaced Yeltsin's poor leadership -view Soviet Union's strength with admiration when comparing it to the failure of the mid 1990s

-they look back favorably b/c of what happened after its end -shock therapy caused economic failure, loss of territories from dissolve Soviet Union, and failure to transition to a political system that Russia was not ready for -Soviet Union was considered a world power as it was respected and capable of many things it is not today (Putin still trying to gain this back) -view Soviet Union's communism as giving basic needs (ultimate welfare state)which they can no longer enjoy today -the people used to know what to expect and felt secure with employment and high stability

Oligarchs: -allowed unfair advantages to a select few business magnates who provided Russian gov't with short term payment, but essentially functioned through open capitalism and gained a massive amount of wealth -caused lasting distrust in capitalism and democracy (ideas of West) Organized crime: -lowered legitimacy of system -Putin uses this to negotiate contracts unjustly through intimidation and threats -controls his people/advisors -not a law governed state: laws are not even followed by leader

-b/c of Putin's influence on the political system -United Russia is Putin's party which allows decisions in the Duma to remain loyal to Putin's wishes -UR able to successfully control the Duma because it is directly connected to Putin and his power and it adheres to his beliefs

-hears cases from civil disputes between firms or firms and the gov't -supposed to set clear guidline for how business should run in Russia for investment and it has failed (no rule of law) thus economy does not develop or globalize

-exercises constitutional review -interprets/applies 1993 Constitution: approves changes to it Issues: judges aren't all legal scholars, not used very often (unless Putin needs something) -not independent -undefined

-consititution applied evenly and equally across society -high level of legitimacy (people & leaders follow laws) Russia: laws not considered legitimate, basis of decision rules are not evenly utilized, leadership ignores laws

-oil revenue up sharply 2000-2008, them plummeted -natural resource dependency, most exports resource based -Oil Crash 2014-2015: oil and natural gas prices dug deeply into economy -lack of investment from other countries b/c of corruption -major wealth gap: oligarchs still making money while average person struggles -large businesses dominate, small ones overshadowed

-population shrinking: mortality rates especially in men, low birth rates -dependence on migrant labor -threat to national security and economic viability

-Putin relies on intimidation/removal of rights to achieve goals -suppression of independent media -pro Putin supporters (like NASHI) have civil liberties, minorities like LGBT don't

-not fully embraced integration in int'l community (resists EU, openly dismisses NATO) -not accepted loss of int'l influence (military behind USA, economy behind, lack of ability to protect power outside neighboring republics) -not accepted int'l laws -expanded military presence in former Soviet republics (Ukraine 2014) -no definite position in world order -Putin trying to roll back to Soviet era

In Syria to: -boost regional influence -keep friendly ties with Israel (like US) -military support for Assad (unlike US, countering its policy with Iran) -fight ISIS sort of...actually bombed rebels

-February 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea -claimed to be protecting ethnic Russians in Ukraine -Ukraine was former satellite of USSR -Crimea allows access to Black Sea, region has long history of warfare and ethnic disputes -2013-2014: Ukraine about to enter EU with free trade agreement -Putin wanted to prevent the treaty -Russian friendly Ukraine president tried to void treaty -public went to revolt and president fled -Russia used revolt as excuse to enter Crimea and Eastern Ukraine, sending support to Ukraine separatists

-attempted to break from Russia in 1994 -2000 apartment bombings in Russian cities blamed on Chechen rebels -Russia fought bloody guerilla wars in Chechnya in 94-96, 00-04 -Russia refuses to recognize Chechnya's independence -Russian puppet president runs Chechnya -terrorism constant fear -destabilizes the entire Caucus region: Georgia and Dagestan both experience violence from chaos in Chechnya on border -08-09: Georgia and Russia involved in shooting war over regional independence

-run off system (modeled after French run off) -First round: if one party gets more than 50% of vote, they win. If all parties get less than 50%, the two highest will go to the second round. -Second round: one party needs 55% to win -Putin has not faced a second round (multi-party system helps this)

-two major parties: United Russia (party of power) and Communist Party (only one with ideology) -rest are regional and have little influence

-kleptocracy -corruption: judiciary system only just adopting innocent until proven guilty principle. In 2000 Putin consolidated control of local leaders through district governors -Federal Assembly and Duma more concerned about local issues: Putin likes this because he has more control over national -bribery -political murders -racism and strong ethnic difficulties: Chechnya is target b/c they aren't truly Russian, not same status -massive environmental problems

-always first: family influence -education: state control, pro-patriotic/gov't. Authorities seek to use schools and media to build loyalty to state (ex. NASHI) -Orthodox Church- rising, Conservative faith (historically believe Russian culture last best hope for Christian civilization) -mass media: state control, less compared to Soviet era

-Russians see themselves as a country of power that dominates the rest of the world and should be taken seriously -refuse to accept position in world (military and economic weakness, unable to control regional areas, not real world power anymore) -the gov't depends on an immense amount of nationalism and citizens who feed into the pro-Putin movement gain the most rewards (most rights, possible moving up in ranks) -this distances Russia from the West as old Cold War tensions are emerging under Putin and the US/EU is thought to threaten Russia's strength/prosperity

-Shock Therapy has turned people away from Western ideals of democracy and capitalism -they instead look back favorably on strength of Soviet Union -they support Putin's current leadership in comparison to Yeltsin's and don't show signs of moving toward change

-nomenklatura- individuals recruited, trained, and appointed for leadership positions in regime. Communist Party would then identify potential leaders from within sponsored organizations that gained experience in group activity. -essentially moving up in ranks -Today: mixture of career types, but goal is to be Putin's ally/remain loyal to remain high in ranks/move up (ex. Medvedev does whatever Putin wants to keep position). High corruption: use of money (bribes for services). -2000: consolidated control of local leaders through district governors (election)... actually did this so he had more control over national issues

Social: -pro Putin vs. against Putin: encouraged by issue of loyalty, practically no rights if not in line with Putin's wants, advertised in media/education -Russian vs. Not Russian: ethnic/racist cleavages (ex. Chechnya constantly used as target b/c not truly Russia), Russia only country with one ethnicity: encourage by high nationality -minorities such as LGBT: Putin highly Conservative, no rights for gays (not considered actually Russian) Economic: -oligarchs vs. rest of society: still dominate economy and make money, high unemployment with rest of population, struggling small businesses in comparison to natural resource industry

-corruption/kleptocracy limits democratization b/c does not deliver true democratic principles -no rule of law -only just adopted innocent until proven guilty principle -not for people, but for Putin (gov't/power revolves around his wants and beliefs) -freedom of speech and freedom of press counteracted by Putin -fair & free market economy cannot develop -can Russia survive after Putin?