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Russian Military Reform: A Failed Exercise in Defence Decision Making (Routledge Contemporary Russia and Eastern Europe Series)
by Carolina Vendil PallinThis book examines reform of the Russian military since the end of the Cold War. It explores the legacy of the Soviet era, explaining why - at the time of the fall of the Soviet Union - radical reform was long overdue in the wake of changing military technology, new economic and political realities, and the emergence of new threats and challenges. It discusses the problems encountered by Gorbachev in his attempts to promote military reform in the late 1980s, and goes on to analyse in detail the mixed fortunes of the policies of his successors, Yeltsin and Putin. It describes how the onset of war in Chechnya in 1994 provided clear evidence of the weaknesses of the Russian military in modern conflicts, and shows that although the Chechnya debacle did provide some impetus for reforms in the armed forces in 1997-98, the momentum was not continued under the Putin government. It argues that Putin’s policies of bolstering central control over all aspects of decision making has left untouched many key problems facing the Russian military, including infighting between different force structures, lack of transparency and independent scrutiny over defence spending, and absence of consensus on the main threats to Russia and optimum force posture. Moreover, it argues that in his attempts to concentrate all means of control to a corrupt and inefficient Kremlin bureaucracy, Putin has deprived himself of all alternative channels of independent scrutiny, control and oversight, thus exacerbating the problems that continue to plague the Russian military.
Russian Minority Politics in Post-Soviet Latvia and Kyrgyzstan: The Transformative Power of Informal Networks (National and Ethnic Conflict in the 21st Century)
by Michele E. CommercioThe collapse of the Soviet Union suddenly rendered ethnic Russians living in non-Russian successor states like Latvia and Kyrgyzstan new minorities subject to dramatic political, economic, and social upheaval. As elites in these new states implemented formal policies and condoned informal practices that privileged non-Russians, ethnic Russians had to react. In Russian Minority Politics in Post-Soviet Latvia and Kyrgyzstan, Michele E. Commercio draws on extensive field research, including hundreds of personal interviews, to analyze the responses of minority Russians to such policies and practices. In particular, she focuses on the role played by formal and informal institutions in the crystallization of Russian attitudes, preferences, and behaviors in these states.Commercio asks why there is more out-migration and less political mobilization among Russians in Kyrgyzstan, a state that adopts policies that placate both Kyrgyz and Russians, and less out-migration and more political mobilization among Russians in Latvia, a state that adopts policies that favor Latvians at the expense of Russians. Challenging current thinking, she suggests that the answer to this question lies in the power of informal networks.After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Communist party, Komsomol youth organization, and KGB networks were transformed into informal networks. Russians in Kyrgyzstan were for various reasons isolated from such networks, and this isolation restricted their access to the country's private sector, making it difficult for them to create effective associations capable of representing their interests. This resulted in a high level of Russian exit and the silencing of Russian voices. In contrast, Russians in Latvia were well connected to such networks, which provided them with access to the country's private sector and facilitated the establishment of political parties and nongovernmental organizations that represented their interests. This led to a low level of Russian exit and high level of Russian voice. Commercio concludes that informal networks have a stronger influence on minority politics than formal institutions.
Russian Modernisation: Structures and Agencies (Routledge Europe-Asia Studies)
by Markku Kivinen and Terry CoxRussia’s post-Soviet modernisation is complex and subject to changing interpretations among Russian political leaders and observers of Russia. This has created serious problems for understanding Russia and the changes it is currently undergoing. With this in mind, a new Finnish Centre of Excellence was established in 2012 at the Aleksanteri Institute of the University of Helsinki under the title ‘Choices of Russian Modernisation’. This collection of essays represents some of the first examples of the Centre’s research. Reflecting the broad range of issues explored in the work of the Centre, it covers questions of Russia’s historical legacy, technological development, energy economy, political regime, political opposition, social development, religious life and external relations. The authors are all members of or affiliated to the Centre of Excellence. This book was originally published as a special issue of Europe-Asia Studies.
Russian Modernization: A New Paradigm (Studies in Contemporary Russia)
by Markku KivinenBuilding on an original interpretation of social theory and an interdisciplinary approach, this book creates a new paradigm in the Russian studies. Taking a fresh view of Russia’s multiple experiences of modernization, it seeks to explain the Putin era in a completely new way. This book explores the paradoxical and contradictory aspects of Russia, analyzing the energy-dependent economy and hybrid political regime, but also religion, welfare, and culture, and their often complex interrelations. Written by a community of both Western and Russian scholars, this book re-affirms the value of social science when confronting a society that has undergone enormous and costly systematic changes. The Russian elites see modernization narrowly as economic and technological competitiveness. The contributors to this volume see contemporary Russia facing a series of antinomies, which are macro-level dilemmas that cannot be abolished, either by philosophical mediation or by immediate political decisions. As such, they are the tension fields that constitute choices for various competing agencies. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of Russian studies, transition studies, sociology, social policy, political science, energy policy, cultural studies, and stratification studies. Professionals involved in energy, ecology, and security policy will also find this publication a rich source.
Russian Music at Home and Abroad: New Essays
by Richard TaruskinThis new collection views Russian music through the Greek triad of "the Good, the True, and the Beautiful" to investigate how the idea of "nation" embeds itself in the public discourse about music and other arts with results at times invigorating, at times corrupting. In our divided, post–Cold War, and now post–9/11 world, Russian music, formerly a quiet corner on the margins of musicology, has become a site of noisy contention. Richard Taruskin assesses the political and cultural stakes that attach to it in the era of Pussy Riot and renewed international tensions, before turning to individual cases from the nineteenth century to the present. Much of the volume is devoted to the resolutely cosmopolitan but inveterately Russian Igor Stravinsky, one of the major forces in the music of the twentieth century and subject of particular interest to composers and music theorists all over the world. Taruskin here revisits him for the first time since the 1990s, when everything changed for Russia and its cultural products. Other essays are devoted to the cultural and social policies of the Soviet Union and their effect on the music produced there as those policies swung away from Communist internationalism to traditional Russian nationalism; to the musicians of the Russian postrevolutionary diaspora; and to the tension between the compelling artistic quality of works such as Stravinsky’s Sacre du Printemps or Prokofieff’s Zdravitsa and the antihumanistic or totalitarian messages they convey. Russian Music at Home and Abroad addresses these concerns in a personal and critical way, characteristically demonstrating Taruskin’s authority and ability to bring living history out of the shadows.
Russian Nationalism and Ethnic Violence: Symbolic Violence, Lynching, Pogrom and Massacre (Europa Country Perspectives)
by Richard ArnoldNationalism is now the dominant narrative in Russian politics, and one with genuine popularity in society. Russian Nationalism and Ethnic Violence is a theoretical and empirical study which seeks to break the concept of "ethnic violence" into distinguishable types, examining the key question of why violence within the same conflict takes different forms at certain times and providing empirical insight into the politics of one of the most important countries in the world today. Theoretically, the work promises to bring the content of ethnic identity back into explanations of ethnic violence, with concepts from social theory, and empirical and qualitative analysis of databases, newspaper reports, human rights reports, social media, and ethnographic interviews. It sets out a new typology of ethnic violence, studied against examples of neo-Nazi attacks, Cossack violence against Meskhetian Turks, and Russian race riots. Russian Nationalism and Ethnic Violence brings hate crimes in Russia into the study of ethnic violence and examines the social undercurrents that have led to Putin’s embrace of nationalism. It adds to the growing body of English language scholarship on Russia’s nationalist turn in the post-Cold War era, and will be essential reading for anyone seeking to understand not only why different forms of ethnic violence occur, but also the potential trajectory of Russian politics in the next 20 years.
Russian Nationalism and the National Reassertion of Russia (Routledge Contemporary Russia and Eastern Europe Series)
by Marlene LaruelleMilitary action in South Ossetia, growing tensions with the United States and NATO, and Russia's relationship with the European Union demonstrate how the issue of Russian nationalism is increasingly at the heart of the international political agenda.This book considers a wide range of aspects of Russian nationalism, focussing on the Putin period. It discusses the development of Russian nationalism, including in the Soviet era, and examines how Russian nationalism grows out of – or is related to – ideology, culture, racism, religion and intellectual thinking, and demonstrates how Russian nationalism affects many aspects of Russian society, politics and foreign policy. This book examines the different socio-political phenomena which are variously defined as ‘nationalism’, ‘patriotism’ and ‘xenophobia’. As Russia reasserts itself in the world, with Russian nationalism as one of the key driving forces in this process, an understanding of Russian nationalism is essential for understanding the dynamics of contemporary international relations.
Russian Nationalism and the Russian-Ukrainian War (Europa Country Perspectives)
by Taras KuzioThis book is the first to provide an in-depth understanding of the 2014 crisis, Russia’s annexation of Crimea and Europe’s de facto war between Russia and Ukraine. The book provides a historical and contemporary understanding behind President Vladimir Putin Russia’s obsession with Ukraine and why Western opprobrium and sanctions have not deterred Russian military aggression. The volume provides a wealth of detail about the inability of Russia, from the time of the Tsarist Empire, throughout the era of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), and since the dissolution of the latter in 1991, to accept Ukraine as an independent country and Ukrainians as a people distinct and separate from Russians. The book highlights the sources of this lack of acceptance in aspects of Russian national identity. In the Soviet period, Russians principally identified themselves not with the Russian Soviet Federative Republic, but rather with the USSR as a whole. Attempts in the 1990s to forge a post-imperial Russian civic identity grounded in the newly independent Russian Federation were unpopular, and notions of a far larger Russian ‘imagined community’ came to the fore. A post-Soviet integration of Tsarist Russian great power nationalism and White Russian émigré chauvinism had already transformed and hardened Russian denial of the existence of Ukraine and Ukrainians as a people, even prior to the 2014 crises in Crimea and the Donbas. Bringing an end to both the Russian occupation of Crimea and to the broader Russian–Ukrainian conflict can be expected to meet obstacles not only from the Russian de facto President-for-life, Vladimir Putin, but also from how Russia perceives its national identity.
Russian Nuclear Orthodoxy: Religion, Politics, and Strategy
by Dmitry AdamskyA nuclear priesthood has arisen in Russia. From portable churches to the consecration of weapons systems, the Russian Orthodox Church has been integrated into every facet of the armed forces to become a vital part of Russian national security, politics, and identity. This extraordinary intertwining of church and military is nowhere more visible than in the nuclear weapons community, where the priesthood has penetrated all levels of command and the Church has positioned itself as a guardian of the state's nuclear potential. Russian Nuclear Orthodoxy considers how, since the Soviet collapse in 1991, the Church has worked its way into the nuclear forces, the most significant wing of one of the world's most powerful military organizations. Dmitry Adamsky describes how the Orthodox faith has merged with Russian national identity as the Church continues to expand its influence on foreign and domestic politics. The Church both legitimizes and influences Moscow's assertive national security strategy in the twenty-first century. This book sheds light on the role of faith in modern militaries and highlights the implications of this phenomenon for international security. Ultimately, Russian Nuclear Orthodoxy interrogates the implications of the confluence of religion and security for other members of the nuclear club, beyond Russia.
Russian Oil Enterprises in Europe: Investments and Regional Influence
by Tomáš Vlček Martin JirušekThis book analyzes motivation, investments, and influence of the Russian Federation and Russian companies in the European oil sector, specifically, the Southeastern Europe. The main idea of the book is to highlight economic and political logic of the Russian activities in the oil sector as well as to provide a brief analysis of the situation in the natural gas sector. The findings help to understand the general code of conduct of Russian energy companies and their potential ties to their homeland government. This project will appeal to academics, researchers, graduate students, field professionals, and everyone who is interested in Russian and European geopolitics.
Russian Organized Corruption Networks and their International Trajectories
by M. R. Haberfeld Serguei CheloukhineCountries undergoing major social and legal transitions typically experience a light, but relatively insignificant, increase in crime. However, in the past decade, many transitional countries in Eastern Europe, and Russia in particular, have experienced a surge in criminal activities that came about through the collaboration of diverse players--such as criminals, state officials, businesspersons, and law enforcement--into organized networks aimed to obtain financial and economic gains.
Russian Organized Crime (Cummings Center Series)
by Phil WilliamsFirst Published in 1997. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Russian Orthodoxy Resurgent: Faith and Power in the New Russia
by Carol Garrard John GarrardRussian Orthodoxy Resurgent is the first book to fully explore the expansive and ill-understood role that Russia's ancient Christian faith has played in the fall of Soviet Communism and in the rise of Russian nationalism today. John and Carol Garrard tell the story of how the Orthodox Church's moral weight helped defeat the 1991 coup against Gorbachev launched by Communist Party hardliners. The Soviet Union disintegrated, leaving Russians searching for a usable past. The Garrards reveal how Patriarch Aleksy II--a former KGB officer and the man behind the church's successful defeat of the coup--is reconstituting a new national idea in the church's own image. In the new Russia, the former KGB who run the country--Vladimir Putin among them--proclaim the cross, not the hammer and sickle. Meanwhile, a majority of Russians now embrace the Orthodox faith with unprecedented fervor. The Garrards trace how Aleksy orchestrated this transformation, positioning his church to inherit power once held by the Communist Party and to become the dominant ethos of the military and government. They show how the revived church under Aleksy prevented mass violence during the post-Soviet turmoil, and how Aleksy astutely linked the church with the army and melded Russian patriotism and faith. Russian Orthodoxy Resurgent argues that the West must come to grips with this complex and contradictory resurgence of the Orthodox faith, because it is the hidden force behind Russia's domestic and foreign policies today.
Russian Policy Towards Mongolia, 1911–1952: When Mongolia Fought the Red
by Batsaikhan Ookhnoi EmgentThis study analyzes the Soviet Union&’s strategic interests and policies toward Mongolia, emphasizing Joseph Stalin&’s perception of its geopolitical importance. It examines why Mongolia&’s independence was a key condition Stalin set at the Yalta Summit for the Soviet declaration of war on Japan. While existing research has explored Soviet-Mongolian relations, this study utilizes newly declassified archival materials from Russia, Mongolia, and Japan to reassess Stalin&’s strategic vision and interactions with Mongolian leaders. The research argues that Soviet policy was primarily driven by economic interests, with political considerations playing a secondary role. It also highlights the alignment between Mongolian national aspirations and Russian strategic objectives, particularly since the 1910s. By incorporating previously unexamined sources, this study offers a more nuanced understanding of Soviet-Mongolian relations and Mongolia&’s role in Soviet Far Eastern strategy, shedding light on its historical path to sovereignty and its significance in regional power dynamics.
Russian Policy towards China and Japan: The El'tsin and Putin Periods (BASEES/Routledge Series on Russian and East European Studies #Vol. 42)
by Natasha KuhrtDrawing on the most up-to-date sources, this book provides an in-depth examination of Russia’s relations with China and Japan, the two Asia-Pacific superpowers-in-waiting. For Russia there has always been more than one ‘Asia’: after the collapse of the Soviet Union, there were those in the Russian elite who saw Asia as implying the economic dynamism of the Asia-Pacific, with Japan as the main player. However there were others who saw the chance for Russia to reassert its claim to be a great power, based on Russia’s geopolitical and geoeconomic position as a Eurasian power. For these, China was the power to engage with: together China and Russia could control both Heartland and Rim, both Eurasia and Asia-Pacific, whereas accepting Japan’s conception of Asia implied regional fragmentation and shared sovereignty. This book argues that this strand of thinking, mainly confined to nationalists in the El’tsin years, has now, under Putin, become the dominant discourse among Russian policymakers. Despite opportunities for convergence presented by energy resources, even for trilateral cooperation, traditional anxiety regarding loss of control over key resource areas in the Russian Far East is now used to inform regional policy, leading to a new resource nationalism. In light of Russia’s new assertiveness in global affairs and its increasing use of the so-called ‘energy weapon’ in foreign policy, this book will appeal not only to specialists on Russian politics and foreign policy, but also to international relations scholars.
Russian Political Institutions (Routledge Revivals)
by Derek J. ScottFirst published in 1958, Russian Political Institutions is intended primarily to meet the need of university students for a good account of the political institutions of the Soviet Union in terms similar to those used in their study of other countries. Though the unique comprehensiveness of the Soviet state’s concerns, to which the book draws attention, precludes a formally comparative approach, the ways in which its business is done can be explained, as elsewhere, by the country’s circumstances and historical experience.The first chapter indicates something of these circumstances and experience and of the motives of the Soviet state. The second explains the way the distinctive institutional form of the Soviet state came into being and the process by which it assumed some of the conventional state machinery. The third examines this conventional state and its unconventional functions in a Russian Communist setting. The fourth concerns the structure and operation of the complex device called the Party. The fifth, in turn, examines the means evolved for the fulfillment of the state’s main task, the management of the fully nationalized economy as a single concern, and the other main systems of control, including the judicial system. The sixth chapter suggests briefly how priorities of tasks are decided upon, obligations determined, and their performance secured. This is a must read for students and scholars of Russian history and Soviet politics.
Russian Political War: Moving Beyond the Hybrid
by Mark GaleottiThis book cuts through the misunderstandings about Russia’s geopolitical challenge to the West, presenting this not as ‘hybrid war’ but ‘political war.’ Russia seeks to antagonise: its diplomats castigate Western ‘Russophobia’ and cultivate populist sentiment abroad, while its media sells Russia as a peaceable neighbour and a bastion of traditional social values. Its spies snoop, and even kill, and its hackers and trolls mount a 24/7 onslaught on Western systems and discourses. This is generally characterised as ‘hybrid war,’ but this is a misunderstanding of Russian strategy. Drawing extensively not just on their writings but also decades of interactions with Russian military, security and government officials, this study demonstrates that the Kremlin has updated traditional forms of non-military ‘political war’ for the modern world. Aware that the West, if united, is vastly richer and stronger, Putin is seeking to divide, and distract, in the hope it will either accept his claim to Russia’s great-power status – or at least be unable to prevent him. In the process, Russia may be foreshadowing how the very nature of war is changing: political war may be the future. This book will be of much interest to students of strategic studies, war studies, Russian politics and security studies.
Russian Politics Today: Stability and Fragility
by Susanne A. WengleRussian Politics Today: Stability and Fragility provides an accessible and nuanced introduction to contemporary Russian politics at a time of increasing uncertainty. Using the theme of stability versus fragility as its overarching framework, this innovative textbook explores the forces that shape Russia's politics, economy, and society. The volume provides up-to-date coverage of core themes – Russia's strong presidency, its weak party system, the role of civil society, and its dependence on oil and gas revenues – alongside path-breaking chapters on the politics of race, class, gender, sexuality, and the environment. An international and diverse team of experts presents the most comprehensive available account of the evolution of Russian politics in the post-Soviet era, providing the tools for interpreting the past and the present while also offering a template for understanding future developments.
Russian Politics and Presidential Power: Transformational Leadership from Gorbachev to Putin
by Donald R. KelleyRussian Politics and Presidential Power takes an in-depth look at the Russian presidency and uses it as a key to understanding Russian politics. Donald R. Kelley looks at presidents from Gorbachev to Putin as authoritarian, transformational leaders who set out to build the future, while sometimes rejecting and reinterpreting the work of past modernizers. Placing the presidency in this context helps readers understand both the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the nature of the Russian Federation that rose in its place. And by setting the presidency within a longer historical context, Kelley shows how the future of the presidency is dependent on other features of the political system.
Russian Politics and Presidential Power: Transformational Leadership from Gorbachev to Putin
by Donald R. KelleyRussian Politics and Presidential Power takes an in-depth look at the Russian presidency and uses it as a key to understanding Russian politics. Donald R. Kelley looks at presidents from Gorbachev to Putin as authoritarian, transformational leaders who set out to build the future, while sometimes rejecting and reinterpreting the work of past modernizers. Placing the presidency in this context helps readers understand both the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the nature of the Russian Federation that rose in its place. And by setting the presidency within a longer historical context, Kelley shows how the future of the presidency is dependent on other features of the political system.
Russian Politics and Response to Globalization
by Lada V. KochtcheevaThis book analyzes the nature of Russia’s involvement with globalization. To date, Russia has mainly followed a course of selective openness governed by an increasingly strong state pursuing self-determination and its own vision of strategic objectives and forms of cooperation, rather than the projected reproduction of global convergence. It is also a country that is believed to be finding a new place and position for itself in the evolving global order, where European and American reflections shape the treatment of contemporary questions concerning Russia’s status in the world. The book highlights the problems and conflicts associated with political developments, democratization, economic reforms, and innovation, as well as societal perceptions and national identity formation. The world is shifting, with Russia developing its own vision of global politics and cultivating a pragmatic strategy based on national interest, one that supports globalization where necessary and opposes it where conflicts of interest and values are inevitable.
Russian Politics and Society
by Richard SakwaHaving 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 on Russian politics and society. New to this edition: extended coverage of electoral laws, party development and regional politics new chapter on the 'phoney democracy' period, 1991-93 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 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 is essential reading for all those concerned with the fate of Russia, and with the future of international society.
Russian Politics and Society
by Richard SakwaFirst published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Russian Politics and Society
by Richard SakwaFully revised and updated to reflect the considerable changes in Russia over the last decade, the fifth edition of this classic text builds on the strengths of previous editions to provide a comprehensive and sophisticated analysis of Russian politics and society. The new edition incorporates the latest debates about Russian politics, analysing recent institutional and political developments, and examines the electoral cycle and prospects of the president elected at the end of the process. New to this edition: an evaluation of Putin’s leadership and the country's political performance under him; updated election results and demographic, social, ethnic/national statistics to include results of the 2010 census; changes in the party system, to electoral legislation and to the composition of parliament as well as the relationship between the executive and legislature; coverage of the constitutional changes and governmental appointments under the various prime ministers; more analysis of economic performance including discussion of the energy sector and pipeline politics; changes in Russian foreign policy since EU enlargement, its relationship with NATO since the ‘reset’, as well as its relations with post-Soviet states; assessment of the military reforms and security and defence policy; debates over the question of democracy in Russia today, the nature of the system, and its future prospects. 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. An unrivalled textbook on the subject it is essential reading for all those concerned with the fate of Russia, and with the future of international society.
Russian Politics in Transition (Routledge Revivals)
by Nikolai Biryukov Victor SergeyevFirst published in 1997 and written by two distinguished Russian scholars, this book examines the problems and prospects of democratic transition in Russia since the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Specifically, it offers a compelling evaluation of the rise and fall of the 1990 Russian parliament. The problems of transforming what had been a regional assembly into a national parliament are analysed in the context of the failure of perestroika, the difficulties of generating pluralist politics, the strength of presidential power and the tensions between ideologies of reform, on the one hand, and the realities of economic crisis, on the other. The analysis allows them to evaluate the role of political upheaval and conflicts of legitimacy in Russian democratization. The book is divided into three sections. The first offers a theory of transition to modern democracy. This provides the framework for the second section, an account of the first parliament after the 1990 elections, its conflicts with presidential power and the reform agenda of the government and, finally, its fall. The third section examines three particular problems which were decisive in producing the crisis of Russian parliamentarianism and democratization: voting behaviour in a non-party parliamentary setting and its relationship to conflicts between legislature and executive; populism and representation; and the role of democratic values and procedures in the legislative process. Drawing on their unrivalled knowledge of issues, events and actors, Nikolai Biryukov and Victor Sergeyev gather and interpret much new evidence to explore their subject. In a path-breaking study, the authors draw on a variety of sources and traditions to produce an original theory of the problems of political stability set up by democratic transition in Russia.