The present day Russian Federation involves a democratic system, given the presence of elections, an independent judiciary, and the supremacy of law. Yet, in democracy, the crux of it involves an inevitable paradox: law limits state power, but the state must have the power to enforce the law. However, finding the balance of the ability to enforce laws, and therefore maintaining order, while not infringing on civil liberties, requires a mutual understanding, a social contract, between the rulers and the ruled. This requirement has not found its place in the Russian political arena, especially since “creating a rule-of-law-based sate out of dictatorship is not easy” (Bressler 2009). In addition, the Russian psyche views authority as a source of force and violence (Yakovlev 1996), an etymological result of a continuity beginning from imperial Russia. Although the Russian Federation, the Union Soviet Socialist Republics, the Russian Empire, and the Tsardom of Russia differ significantly, a strong state remains prevalent in the core of Russian history and politics. In short, the nature of political rule in Russia involves a never ending tug of war between the seemingly undying authoritative soulless entity known as the state and the equally undying Russian people’s hunger for liberty.
Seemingly Undying Authoritative and Soulless State
Under Monarchical Russia Describing the tug of war necessitates full understanding of the parties involved, the first being the state, in all of
Throughout its long history, Russia has been trapped in a continuous cycle of authoritarian regimes; only interrupted briefly with periods of tumultuous democratic transitions that were plagued by poor bureaucracy and weak institutions. Therefore, time and time again, Russia has turned towards authoritarianism. In the late 1900’s to early 2000’s, Russia again saw the fall of democracy coincide with the rise of a competitive authoritarian regime. This rise of competitive authoritarianism in Russia in the late 1900’s to early 2000’s was largely the result of the resource curse which granted Putin’s Administration false economic performance legitimacy. This in turn reinvigorated past strongman ideals, while at the same time solidified negative
“There are no morals in politics; there is only expedience. A scoundrel may be of use to us just because he is a scoundrel.” -Vladimir Lenin. Because of the changes in Russia’s government and economy over the years, authoritarianism has changed drastically, but the common theme of strong government and limited freedom for citizens has stayed the same.
The state remains significant to Russia’s prospect as ever. This is so not only because, as in any nation, an effectively functioning state government is necessary considering the proper implementation of a complex economy and legal system, but also because, in Russian circumstances, the factors of globalization are increasing. These mutually factors included the geography of Russian politics, and the dislocation between population concentrations and natural resource centers, and the unavoidable preponderance of somewhat costly land transportation over sea-borne transportation. As a result, it is questionable whether Russia can survive as a country; whereas, they find themselves essentially in a global liberal economic structure. For
In the eyes of an overwhelming majority of mankind, freedom is an irrefutable right. An unmeasurable amount of people has chosen to potentially sacrifice their lives if only for the off-chance of being freed. At the dawn of the 20th century, Russia had finally slipped through the shackles put forth by the czarist autocracy. The feeling of liberation brought a spark in what appeared to be a labyrinthine tunnel invariably plagued with darkness. However, this spark was unable to be kindled into a fire as Vladimir Lenin of the Bolshevik Party quickly extinguished what could have been a democracy.
The Russian Revolution is a widely studied and seemingly well understood time in modern, European history, boasting a vast wealth of texts and information from those of the likes of Robert Service, Simon Sebag Montefiore, Allan Bullock, Robert Conquest and Jonathan Reed, to name a few, but none is so widely sourced and so heavily relied upon than that of the account of Leon Trotsky, his book “History of the Russian Revolution” a somewhat firsthand account of the events leading up to the formation of the Soviet Union. There is no doubt that Trotsky’s book, among others, has played a pivotal role in shaping our understanding of the events of The Revolution; but have his personal predilections altered how he portrayed such paramount
We can certainly view modern-day Russia as a world power which has superficially characterized itself as a nation operating more ethically than they were in past years. However, it seems that there are social norms and historically immoral behavior that the Russian government continues to impose upon the population. Over a ten-year span while Stalin was in power, approximately 5,600 people were convicted of bribery (Heinzen, 2007). During that time, there was an emphasis placed on punishing the judiciary members and law enforcement who were corrupting the systems of Russia. Looking back at this period it becomes more clear that the newfound morality among leaders of the country were nothing more than a method of deflection.
He had been, but he was one of many who were greatly angered by the
In Putin’s Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia?, Karen Dawisha relates Russian President Vladmir Putin’s rise to power. She overarchingly claims that Putin is an authoritarian leader who has obstructed and even reverted Russia’s path of democratization, citing, amongst many factors that enabled his ascension, his “interlocking web of personal connections in which he was the linchpin” (100), money-laundering to tax havens and personal projects, and the complicity of the West. With copious research, journalistic interviews, legal documents, and even sporadic informational diagrams, it is evident why her book is so popular amongst scholars and history enthusiasts. Unfortunately however, in spite of the grand yet oftentimes substantiated claims she generates, a more subtle yet noteworthy assumption is made: that the state is a protector, as Olson proffered. She employs this theoretical underpinning from the beginning, though is not representative of Putin’s actual authoritarian regime.
The youth, the multiethnic characteristics, and territorial expanse of Russia all make the country an outlier when compared to other countries. Though independent since 1991, Russia has deep historical roots that trace back to Imperial Russia. From Genghis Khan’s great conquers in the thirteenth century (Marks 2009, 36), to the first free presidential elections in the Russian Republic(Marks 2009, 78)—and everything in between, Russia remains a rollercoaster in the modern day. In the manifestation of modern Russia the privileged and corrupt elites, along with the oppressed and disregarded masses greatly influenced the political developments.
The country of Russia: enormous, expansive, wide-open. The words that describe this Euro-Asian country can be attributed to its origins from its Slavic inhabitants and the takeover by the Varangians. Kievan Russia, as it was called, started its own civilization in the year 862.
Russia is a huge landmass and covers a vast amount of the earth’s surface area. Being so large, Russia contains a huge variety of different geographical features. There are several mountains, rivers, bodies of water, climate zones, and population centers in Russia. Most of the development in Russia is located in its core area, east of the Ural Mountains. There are several countries around Russia that used to be parts of a larger union called The Union of Soviet Socialists Republics, however, in 1991, the USSR broke apart into several other independent states. The new states that were formed are: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and
Russia's history is full of revolutions, war, and changing governments. Each generation was welcomed to a different Russia than the previous one. Looking into Russia's past, it becomes easy to see why Russia was in a state of flux. Religious values, economic instability, and scapegoats are a few reasons why Russia kept changing. Most of Russia's culture was impacted by these changes, but nothing changed more than Russian art. Looking at some of the literature, paintings, sculptures, architecture and other forms of art, the differences between the eras are profound. St. Petersburg and Moscow still have century-old buildings, but with different color profiles. There are statues in their town squares representing heroes, but both cities have
After the Tsar regime was overthrown in 1917, Russia experienced further discontent as its people carried out revolution and civil war (Modern World History: Russia 1905-41). From these occurrences, Russia then became the first communist state in the world. The Bolsheviks had become the ruling party after taking over the Provisional Government in the revolution of November 1917. Vladimir Lenin had been the leader of this party. There was a bitter civil war between the Communists who were the Reds and the opposition being the Whites. As a final point the Bolsheviks defeated their enemies in the Russian Civil War that lasted for 3 years and ended in 1920.
The main problem in Russia is lack of a non-corrupt government. It is impossible to run any country, poor or rich, crime or no crime, healthcare or no healthcare, economy or no economy, without some sort of government. Russia needs assistance in the form of socialist diplomatic support, advice, and very carefully monitored loans. There is no question of producing a Marshall Plan for Russia of the sort that the United States pioneered after World War II, but Russia needs to make that plan, and the U.S. needs to let Russia know that plan will be supported. Although the conditions in Russia differ significantly from the post-war Europe, this struggling nation needs a similar plan to restore it's
November 4th might be considered by some as just another holiday, but the history behind it is filled with passion, love, and loyalty to the country of Russia. Today the people of Russia band together to celebrate their rich past, bright future, and unity. Upon this glorious holiday, one may observe hundreds of multicolored flowers strewn across the monuments of national heroes, Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky. To those that don’t know and may ask what is this wondrous holiday, it is Russia Day of Unity. This day celebrates the time when two national heroes, Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky, liberated Moscow from the Polish troops that strangulated their country. This day celebrates the time when those men ended the time which is most