Ap Comparative Government unit 3: Russia

Authoritarianism

A political system where power is centralized in a single leader or small elite, demanding obedience and suppressing individual freedoms and political opposition to maintain control, often through strong state power, media control, and limiting civil liberties, without being fully totalitarian as it might allow some private life.

Bureaucratic Authoritarianism

A system in which the state bureacracy and the military share a belief that a technocratic leadership focused on rational, objective, and technical expertise, can solve the problems of the country without public participation

Clientelism

A process whereby the state coopts members of the public by providing specific benifits or favors to a single person or to resign

Corporatism

A method of co-operation whereby authoritarian systems create or sanction a limited number of organizations to represent the intrest of the public and restric thtose not set up or approved by the state

Hybrid Regime

A poltical system that blends elelments of both democratic and authoritarian governance, such as holding elections while also restrictiong civil liberties and political freedoms

Kleptocracy

“Rule by theft,” When those in power seek only to drain the state of assets and resources

Patrimonialism

Form of governance in which all power flows directly from the leader, typically characterized by a system where the state and its resources are seen as personal property of the ruler

Populism

A political view that does not have a consistent ideologixal foundation, but that emphasizes hostility toward eletes and established state and economic insitutions

Resource trap

the phenomenon where countries rich in natural resources often experience negative consequences like economic instability, corruption, and social inequality instead of benefiting from their resource wealth that leads to poor governance and development outcomes

Totalitarianism

A nondemocratic regime that is highly centeralized, possessing some form of strong ideology that seeks to transform and absorb fundamental aspects of state, society, and the economy using a wide array of insitutions

Nondemocratic regime

Political systems where power is concentrated, limiting citizen participation and individual freedoms, often featuring sham elections, controlled media, and repression

Bourgeoisie

the captialist class who own the means of production and are significant players in the economic system

Central planing

A communist economic system in which the state explicitly allocates resources by planning what should be produced and in what amounts, the final prices of goods, and where they should be sold

Communism

A political-economic system in which all wealth and property are shared so as to eliminate exploitation, oppression, and, ultimately, the need for political institutions such as the state

Dialectical materialism

Marxist idea that the material world (especially economic life) drives history, changing through conflict between opposing forces (like classes) in a "thesis-antithesis-synthesis" cycle, leading to new stages of society, with matter and physical reality being primary over ideas or spirit

Glasnost

The policy of political liberalization implemented in the soviet untion in the late 1980s

Nomenklatura

Politically sensitive or influential jobs in the state, society, or economy that are staffed by people chosen or approved by the communist party

Party-state

A political system in which power flows difrectly from the ruling politicala party (usually a communist party) to the state, bypassing government structures

Perestroika

The restructuring of the political economy of the Soviet Union in an attempt to end the Era of Stagnation

Politburo

The top policy-making and executive body of a communist party

Proletariat

The working class or lower class in society who live solely from selling their labor power and do not own the means of production

Shock therapy

A process of rapid marketization

Superstructure

All noneconomic insitutions in a society (ex: religion); these ideas and values derive form the base and serve to legitimize the current system of exploitation

Vanguard of the Proletariat

A highly disciplined, centralized party that would work unremittingly to suffuse the proletariat with Socialist consciousness and serve as mentor, leader, and guide, constantly showing the proletariat (working class) where its true class interests lie

Chechnya

a region located in the southern part of Russia, known for its long-standing desire for independence from Russian rule

Commonwealth of independent states (CIS)

A regional Eurasian organization formed by former Soviet republics in 1991 after the USSR's collapse, aiming for cooperation but often challenged by differing national interests, political tensions, and economic disparities

Duma

Lower house of Russian legislature

Eurasian Economic Union

Economic and political union among several former Soviet states

Federal security service (FSB)

Succsesor to the KGB, the Russian intelligence agency

Kremlin

11th century fortress in the heart of Moscow that has been the historical seat of Russian state power

Siloviki

“Men of power” who have orgins in the security agencies and are close to the president Putin

Soviets

Name given to workers councils that sprang up in the 1917

United Russia

Main political party in Russia and supporter of Vladimir Putin

KGB

Soviet secret-police agency charged with domestic and foreing intelligence

Oligarchs

Russian people noted for their control of large amounts of Russian economy, their close ties to the government, and the accusations of corruption surrounding their rise to power