AP Comp Gov Russia

Legitimacy

The belief among citizens that the government has the right to rule. Sources include ideology, performance, nationalism, and democratic procedures.

State

An organization that holds a monopoly on the legitimate use of force within a territory.

Nation

A group of people who share a sense of common identity based on language, culture, history, or religion.

Sovereignty

A state's supreme authority within its borders and its independence from outside control. Russia has violated the sovereignty of former Soviet republics (Georgia 2008, Crimea 2014, Ukraine 2022).

Communism

A political and economic ideology seeking a classless society with collective ownership of the means of production. In practice it meant single-party rule, state ownership of the economy, and an official ideology.

Fascism

An ideology that glorifies the nation under a single leader, rejects class struggle, celebrates military strength, treats opponents as enemies, and keeps private property under state direction. Russian officials use the label against their enemies.

Vanguard party

Lenin's idea that a small group of dedicated professionals must lead the masses toward communism. It justified single-party rule by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Politburo

The small committee of top Communist Party leaders, headed by the general secretary, that made the major decisions in the Soviet Union.

Nomenklatura

A list of important government, industry, and military jobs that could only be filled with Communist Party approval. Appointments depended on loyalty and built patron-client networks.

Patron-client system (patron-clientelism)

A system in which a patron provides jobs, promotions, privileges, or resources in exchange for the loyalty of clients. It shapes the Soviet nomenklatura, the Russian bureaucracy, and corruption today.

Command economy

An economic system in which the state owns nearly all property and central planners decide what is produced, how much, and at what price (Soviet five-year plans).

Collectivization

The forced merger of peasant farms into large state-controlled collective farms under Stalin, carried out with violence and causing famine.

Multiethnic legacy of the USSR

The Soviet Union had fifteen republics and ethnic Russians were only about half the population. Millions of Russians living outside Russia after 1991 became a source of tension and a justification for intervention.

Perestroika

Gorbachev's "restructuring," an economic reform that allowed some private enterprise and gave managers more independence. It disrupted central planning without creating a working market.

Glasnost

Gorbachev's "openness," which loosened censorship and allowed open discussion and criticism of the Soviet past and present. It exposed system failures and fueled nationalist movements.

Demokratizatsiya

Gorbachev's "democratization," which introduced competitive elections for a new legislature in 1989 and weakened the Communist Party's formal monopoly in 1990.

Shock therapy

Yeltsin's rapid transition to a market economy beginning in 1992: lifting price controls, cutting subsidies, and privatizing state enterprises. It caused hyperinflation, collapsing output, and widespread hardship.

Privatization

The transfer of state-owned enterprises to private owners. In Russia, vouchers were given to citizens but most sold them cheaply to insiders and speculators.

Nationalization

The government takeover of private firms or resources. Putin renationalized much of the energy sector (Yukos assets went to Rosneft).

Oligarch

A small group of extremely wealthy individuals whose fortunes give them political influence. They gained control of major industries through loans for shares in the 1990s, and Putin required them to stay out of politics.

State capitalism

A system in which the state owns or directs the largest companies in strategic sectors (Gazprom, Rosneft) while allowing private markets elsewhere.

Democratic backsliding (Putin's regression of democracy)

The gradual weakening of democratic institutions by leaders elected under them, usually through legal steps such as changing election rules, restricting media, and using courts against critics. Russia completed the transition but failed consolidation.

Electoral authoritarianism

A regime that holds multiparty elections to appear democratic while tilting competition so far that the ruling group cannot lose.

Authoritarian regime

A regime in which power is concentrated in a leader or small group that is not accountable to voters.

Hybrid regime

A regime that combines democratic procedures, such as elections, with undemocratic outcomes. Also called electoral authoritarian, managed democracy, or sovereign democracy.

Personalist rule

A form of authoritarianism in which power rests on one individual and loyalty to him rather than on a party or institution.

Siloviki

Men from the security and military services (KGB, FSB, army) who hold many top positions in government and state companies under Putin.

Tandem

The 2008 to 2012 arrangement in which Putin served as prime minister under President Medvedev while remaining the real center of power, getting around consecutive term limits.

Presidential system

A system in which the president is elected separately from the legislature, serves a fixed term, cannot be removed by the legislature, and is both head of state and head of government (Mexico).

Parliamentary system

A system in which voters elect the legislature, which chooses the prime minister and can remove the government with a vote of no confidence (United Kingdom).

Semi-presidential system (dual executive)

A system with a directly elected president and a prime minister responsible to the legislature who share executive power. In Russia the balance is tilted heavily toward the president (a "super-presidency").

Cohabitation

When the president and prime minister come from different parties and must share power. Russia has never experienced it.

President of Russia

Head of state elected directly to a six-year term (two terms maximum, reset by the 2020 amendments). Commander in chief who appoints and dismisses the prime minister, nominates judges, directs foreign policy, issues decrees, calls referenda, and can dissolve the Duma.

Prime Minister of Russia

Head of government nominated by the president and approved by the Duma, who manages economic and domestic policy. Acts as the president's chief manager, can be fired by the president, and becomes acting president if the president leaves office.

Decree

A binding order issued by the president on a broad range of subjects that the Duma cannot veto. It stays in force until a law contradicts it.

Impeachment

The process of removing a president. In Russia it requires a Duma charge, approval by both top courts, and a two-thirds Federation Council vote, so it has never succeeded.

Referendum

A direct vote by the people on a specific question. In Russia referenda (1993 constitution, 2020 amendments) have served as rituals of approval for the president rather than real decisions.

Term limits (the reset)

Russia's constitution limited presidents to two consecutive terms. Putin used the loophole of the tandem, extended the term from four to six years, and then used the 2020 amendments to reset his count, allowing him to stay as late as 2036.

Federal Assembly

Russia's two-chamber legislature made up of the State Duma and the Federation Council.

State Duma

The lower house with 450 members elected for five-year terms. It passes laws, approves the budget, and confirms the prime minister, but is dominated by United Russia and rarely challenges the president.

Federation Council

The upper house with two senators from each federal subject, one chosen by the regional legislature and one by the governor. It approves laws, troop deployments, and judicial nominees. It is less powerful than the Duma (asymmetric bicameralism).

Asymmetric bicameralism

A two-chamber legislature in which one house, the Duma, is much more central to lawmaking and politics than the other.

Civil law

A legal tradition in which judges apply written codes rather than build law from precedent.

Constitutional Court

Court that decides whether laws and government actions comply with the constitution and has judicial review. It has not checked the government or stopped Putin's crackdowns, and the 2020 amendments gave the president more influence over it.

Supreme Court

The highest court of appeals for ordinary criminal and civil cases. In practice it rarely rules against the president.

Rule of law

The principle that everyone, including officials and the head of state, is subject to the same laws applied fairly by independent courts.

Rule by law

A system in which the government uses the legal system as a tool to control opponents while not holding itself to the same standard (Khodorkovsky, Pussy Riot, Navalny).

Asymmetric federalism

A federal system in which federal subjects have the same formal status but different degrees of power and privileges. Russia's republics, krais, oblasts, okrugs, and federal cities differ, often to give autonomy to ethnic minorities.

Federal subject

One of the regional units of the Russian Federation (republics, oblasts, krais, autonomous okrugs, an autonomous oblast, and federal cities). Each sends two senators to the Federation Council.

Power vertical (recentralization, weak federalism)

Putin's chain of command running from the president through presidential envoys and governors to local officials. It includes federal districts, appointed governors (2005 to 2012), and financial centralization, making Russian federalism weak.

Federal districts (super governors)

Administrative layers created by Putin in 2000, each overseen by a presidential envoy who supervises the regions and makes sure federal law is followed.

Single-member district (SMD)

An electoral system in which the country is divided into districts and the candidate with the most votes in each district wins. Plurality winners are called first-past-the-post.

Proportional representation (PR)

An electoral system in which voters choose party lists and each party receives a share of seats close to its share of the vote.

Mixed electoral system

A system combining SMD and PR. Russia used it in 1993 to 2003 and again from 2016 to the present, and Mexico uses it too.

Threshold

The minimum share of the vote a party must earn to win seats in a PR system. Russia used 5 percent, then 7 percent in 2007 and 2011 to shut out small parties, then 5 percent again from 2016.

Duverger's law

The pattern that SMD systems tend to favor two large parties while PR systems tend to support more parties.

Single-party dominant system

A system in which several parties compete but one party wins every election and controls the government (United Russia, PRI-era Mexico).

United Russia (party of power)

Putin's party formed in 2001 that serves the executive and distributes jobs and resources to loyal officials rather than competing on ideas. A catch-all party that is nationalist, law-and-order, centrist economically, and socially conservative. It has controlled the Duma since 2003.

Systemic opposition

Parties that operate within the rules set by the Kremlin (Communist Party, LDPR, A Just Russia, New People). They criticize some policies but support Putin on major issues like Crimea and the war, creating the impression of choice.

Non-systemic opposition

Groups that refuse to play by the Kremlin's rules and are excluded from the system, such as Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation and liberal parties like Yabloko.

Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF)

Successor to the Soviet party and the largest opposition party, with a base among older, rural, and working-class voters. It was strong in the 1990s and promotes socialism.

Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR)

A nationalist, xenophobic party that is not liberal and is loyal to Putin on key issues.

A Just Russia

A loyal socialist and nationalist party founded in 2006 as a left-of-center alternative to the Kremlin.

Winter Protests 2011 to 2012

Large urban protests in Moscow after fraud in the 2011 Duma elections and Putin's announced return to the presidency. The regime responded with concessions and repression, learning to manage the system more carefully rather than open it.

Cleavage

A deep and lasting division in society based on ethnicity, religion, region, class, or ideology that shapes political conflict. Russia's ethnic, religious, and regional divisions help explain the Kremlin's centralization.

Separatism

The demand by a region or ethnic group for independence, such as Chechnya's push after 1991.

Chechnya

A mostly Muslim republic in the North Caucasus that sought independence in 1991 and fought two wars with Russia. Russia ultimately won by handing control to Ramzan Kadyrov in exchange for loyalty.

Beslan School Massacre

A 2004 seizure of a school by Chechen terrorists that killed more than 300 people, including 186 children. Putin responded by ending direct election of governors, increasing security and surveillance, and pushing electoral changes that reduced the number of parties in the Duma.

Civil society

The network of voluntary organizations such as charities, unions, churches, and advocacy groups that exist between the family and the state. Russia's is limited by anti-NGO laws.

Foreign agent laws

Laws labeling organizations (later anyone) receiving foreign money or under foreign influence as "foreign agents," a label with a Soviet-era spy connotation, used to restrict and stigmatize civil society.

State corporatism

A system in which the state recognizes and sponsors certain groups and gives them access to policymaking while excluding groups it does not control. In Russia influence centers on Putin, oligarchs, siloviki, and heads of major industries.

Nashi

A pro-Putin youth movement founded in 2005 and funded by the government that mobilized young people for rallies. It is an example of fake, state-sponsored civil society that encouraged nationalism.

Civil liberties

Freedoms that protect individuals from the government, including speech, assembly, religion, and the press. In Russia the red lines are drawn around national politics, the president, and the military.

Political socialization

The process of developing political beliefs through media, family, education, peers, and government. In Russia the state shapes it through state media, patriotic school curricula, youth groups, and holidays like Victory Day.

Media restrictions in Russia

National TV is state owned or regime aligned, independent outlets are labeled foreign agents or shut down, laws punish criticism of the army, and the internet is increasingly censored and blocked.

Rentier state

A state that earns a large share of revenue from selling a natural resource instead of taxing citizens. It has less need for public support or taxation, which centralizes power and encourages corruption, inequality, and economic volatility.

Resource curse

The tendency of resource-rich countries to fail to diversify, suffer price volatility and corruption, and remain authoritarian because rulers do not depend on citizens for taxes.

Dutch disease

When a booming resource sector raises the value of the currency and makes other exports like manufacturing and agriculture less competitive.

Gazprom

The state-controlled natural gas company that owns pipelines and most Russian gas. It provides government revenue and is used as a tool of influence over Europe.

Corruption

Widespread bribery and abuse of office tied to the patron-client system, where loyalty is rewarded with access to resources. Anti-corruption campaigns are often selective and used against political opponents.

Economic inequality

A large gap between rich and poor and between Moscow and the provinces, with wealth concentrated among oligarchs and elites close to Putin.

Welfare state (social policy)

Constitutionally protected benefits such as pensions, health care, and education that are central to the Putin bargain. Budget pressures from falling oil revenue, sanctions, and war spending threaten them, and cuts have sparked opposition.

Putin bargain

The implicit deal in which the state provides rising incomes, stability, and order in exchange for citizens staying out of politics. It is strained by slow growth, sanctions, and war.

Sanctions

Economic penalties imposed by other countries to change behavior, such as limits on banks, trade, technology, and oil. Western sanctions followed Crimea in 2014 and Ukraine in 2022.

Globalization backlash

A reaction against global economic integration, often through economic nationalism that seeks to protect domestic industries and limit dependence on others.

Supranational organization

An international organization whose institutions can make rules binding on members who share some sovereignty (the EU). The EAEU copies this on paper but is dominated by Russia.

NATO

The Western military alliance formed in 1949 in which an attack on one member is an attack on all. Russia sees its eastward expansion as a threat and cited it to justify invading Ukraine.

European Union (EU)

An economic and political union that was once Russia's largest trading partner. It imposed sanctions after 2014 and expanded them after 2022.

Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)

A weak organization founded in 1991 to manage the Soviet breakup and keep ties among former republics, with few enforcement powers.

Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)

A Russian-led single market launched in 2015 (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia) with common tariffs and free movement. Critics see it as a way to bind neighbors to Moscow.

BRICS

A group of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and later members that presents itself as a voice for the Global South and a multipolar world. It gives Russia diplomatic legitimacy but is not an alliance.

UN Security Council veto

Russia holds a permanent seat and veto power, which it uses to block resolutions and interventions against its interests.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

International trade body Russia joined in 2012 after years of negotiation. Membership requires giving up some sovereignty, but Russia uses it to advance its economic interests.

Annexation of Crimea (2014)

Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine using troops without insignia and a hasty referendum. It violated Ukrainian sovereignty, led to sanctions, and boosted Putin's approval through nationalism.

Invasion of Ukraine (2022)

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which led to severe sanctions, wartime censorship laws, mass emigration of activists, and a war economy.

Fertility rate

The average number of children a woman will have in her lifetime. Russia's is about 1.4 to 1.5, well below the replacement level of about 2.1.

Population pyramid

A graph showing the number of people at each age and sex. Russia's shows notches from WWII losses, low 1990s birth rates, and current decline.

Demographic challenges

Russia's shrinking, aging population caused by low fertility, high male mortality, emigration, and war losses. The government uses maternity capital and pro-family campaigns with little success, and sees decline as a national security threat.

Public health challenges

Male life expectancy is more than 10 years below female, driven by alcohol, drug use, smoking, heart disease, and a weak health system, worsened by the war.

Environmental policy

Not a policy priority in Russia, with heavy industry, limited protection in Siberia, and emphasis on resource extraction over climate change.