Russia Case Study

Russia has many cultural characteristics that have shaped the country we know today. A nation 's culture can define its actions and make them more predictable as a state on the international level. Understanding a nation’s culture gives great insight into the motives and reasoning behind their aggression or acts of force. Factors such as geography, weather, political landscape, military, and key infrastructure provide a clear understanding of Russian culture and how it has shaped the nation over the past century.

There are many stereotypes in the American society that bestows an idea of the depiction of Russians. From past Olympics, we see that the Russians excel in sports and are powerful individuals. We also see the power and intelligence which come from this

by the East Slavs who had pagan beliefs, but in the 10 th century adopted the

The United States and Russia have been battling off pernicious factions menacing the stability of their democracies over the years. Russia has come a long way over the past century, enduring a number of different phases that have completely desecrated any power Russia may have had paralleled to the rest of the world. The United States, however, has been evolving into a prosperous world power that has led to new respect from many other nations. Both Russia and the United States have struggled in the past at maintaining a significant amount of cultural commitment to preservation of specific aspects of their respective democracies. Having a relatively new democracy, Russian citizens have different perceptions and expectations of government from those of United States citizens. With new liberties and freedoms, Russians are struggling to grasp the concept of capitalism and participation in government. In order to preserve strong features of democracy, such as the right to vote or freedom of speech, a country 's constituents must respect and positively view their government. They must have faith in that the government is working for their best interests. Physically, the United States and Russia have been impacted greatly by their geography. Historically, the backgrounds of Russia and the United States are of stark contrast. Traditionally, Russians have a difficult time believing in the stability of their government as it has changed a number of times.

When one thinks of Russian culture, it generally is associated with the keeping of tradition. It is not a country that evokes much change from century to century but when taking a closer look into the country, this is a rather bias view compared to just how much the country has constantly been evolving. The biggest push of cultural change happened during the reign of Peter the Great. Peter came to power in 1682, a time when the Russian court was unreliable to one true leading family until Peter’s ruling when that changed. This was a man who saw that his country needed to break from the tradition and emerge into a western society. This was not an easy change considering the remote location that Russia had to Europe and the deep traditional ways of the people. With this in mind, he created many changes that Russia was to undergo to become this powerhouse country that Peter envisioned for his people. With so much change to happen, the movement was a slow process but with Peter’s motivation, nothing seemed to stop the man. Peter the Great’s efforts to Westernize Russia unified Russia through his military ambitions, his cultural ambitions and his finally the creation of his city, St. Petersburg. All of these are major developments created a new version of Russia that has created the country that it is today.

The Russian state has been characterized by its strong heritage of powerful, autocratic leadership. This domination by small ruling elite has been seen throughout Russia's history and has transferred into its economic history. Throughout the Russian czarist period, to the legacy of seventy years of communism; Russia has been a country marked by strong central state planning, a strict command economy and an overall weak market infrastructure (Goldman, 2003). Self-interest, manipulation and corruption have all been present in the Russian economy, and have greatly helped the few as opposed to the many. To this day, Russia still struggles with creating a competitive and fair market.

Russia has become a more of democracy, but people still lack some basic rights during the Soviet Unions days. Russia plays a key role in the they interact on day to day basis when it comes to the way they say hi to the way the conduct their business meetings with one

Religion can contribute a vast array of aspects to a culture including politics and many other ideals. Many people think that just because Orthodoxy is under the Christian umbrella and the members of this religion meet in a church that it is the same as other forms of Christianity. One may even hypothesize that is “just like the Catholic Church”. This accusation is wrong and many aspects of Russia and the former USSR regions justify this disposition. Despite the conflicting views and accusations about the Russian Orthodox Church, there is a staggering Anthropological context. In order to make sense of the social and cultural impact of Russian Orthodoxy, it is important to know

Religion has had a special history in Russia, having to go through periods of total control over the society to being reduced to nothing when the political power wanted to be the only thing people could believe in. By 1988, the persecutions against the clerics and the believers stopped in the USSR. Since then, the religious landscape has been evolving in Russia and former soviet republics. Religion takes a specific place in society, and plays a peculiar role.

It is special the way Russian religion was establishing through political individuals sacred belief. For example, when Russia has practiced paganism during several years. Until they forcefully were converted into Christian. Russia followed a religion called pagan. Paganism was based on believing in many gods. After communism terminated that caused people turning into atheism. In 1911, the revival of the orthodox Christian church started, it was unique because because its love for the poor and mercy. (pag.24). Until nowadays orthodox church is the largest religion in Russia.

Russians also show respect during their daily life. Have people ever been doing something and lost track of time and is late in Russia if you’re late, don’t be late for more than 15 minutes(ediplomat). When greeting someone, sometimes the people give a handshake, when giving a handshake make it bonebreaking, squeeze as hard as bear can(kwintessential). If someone is invited to a dinner or party most people should bring a gift to show appreciation to the host for inviting

The meaning of culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music, and arts (Zimmermann, 2015). In this essay, I will be explaining Russia’s cultural characteristics and the everyday society in Russia. I will also be covering the geography of Russia and their lines of communication. Russia has multiple conflicts that the country has been a part of, but I will be discussing the Russian Civil War also known as the three-year war. Furthermore, I will be discussing how weather affects Russia’s population, agriculture, and insurgency. Finally, I will be covering Russia’s society, language, power and authority, etc.

Some underlying failures of the Soviet Union’s five year plans were well hidden from outsiders. The main failure was the forced collectivization of farms throughout the country. The primary issue with collectivization was that if a group failed to meet a quota set out by the government they would not be provided with adequate means to survive. The government barely provide enough for those who achieve the unrealistic quotas set out by them so failing to hit said quota would essentially cause for starvation. “Peasants under Stalin” documents experiences of farmers found in these collective settings. The structure of the farms was that farmers would be paid a low rate for all grain until they reached the quota and everything above that would

In order to achieve objectives of the U.S. Policy for countering negative Russia’s influences in the Balkans and protect the U.S. vital interests in the region I propose following three strategy options to be considered: Strategy option A (More cooperation with Russia); Strategy option B (Same level of cooperation with Russia); and Strategy option C (Less cooperation with Russia). All three strategy options should be integral part of respective policies for Europe and overall U.S. policy and have same “end”- Balkans region is strengthen by liberal democracy and resilient to negative Russia’s influence (paragraph #1).

When we hear the term Russian culture many Americans tend to have negative thoughts like the cold war, their government ruling with an iron hand, and the Red Scare. These thoughts do not do the justice to the Russian people or to their long history as a people dating back to INSERT DATE. One of the major themes throughout Russian history and this course is the idea that the Russian people value intangible things more than the tangible. The Russian people have a long rich heritage, they are deep in there Christian faith, and they pride themselves on hospitality and value there community, families, and fellow Russian people. They have learned how to sacrifice from the constant invasions and being forced farther and