Russia Today Test 2 Review

Norilsk

biggest city in the world above the Arctic circle

Rostov

Big Diomede

Russian island, 2-3 miles away from the US

General population

- disobey/disrespect the law

- voluntary subordination to authority

- passivity and apolitical mindset

- belief in human factor, not the law (person in power can overrule the law if needed)

- tolerance of corruption

- favoring anarchy "enough is enough" mindset

Politicians

- disregard of the law

- support of those who obey

- tough crackdown of opposition

- lack of freedom of speech

- main goal is to keep power

Lenin's terror

- 1918-1923 (coincides with the Russian civil war: red army vs white army)

- killings of counter-revolutionaries, focus on social strata

- involvement of the masses

- estimated 1 million victims

Stalin's terror (Great purge)

- 1936-1938

- estimated 4 million people sent to camps/executed for being enemies of the state, officially 1.327 mil

- NKVD secret police carried out mass arrests, torture, etc

- many arrests made from citizen (anonymous) informers

- Reasons: party members questioning his authority>>needed to maintain authority and stay in power, peasants hidden resistance after collectivization, imminent threat from Germany and Japan

21st century

Putins crackdown on opposition

Gulag

abbreviation (for "Chief of Administration of corrective labor camps")

Archipelago Gulag

a large group or chain of islands with concentration camps

President, Government, Federal Assembly, Courts

4 subjects of state power

Federal assembly

the federation council and the state Duma

First Russian President

Boris Yeltsin (1991/2-1999)

Second and current Russian President

Vladimir Putin (2000-now)

Third Russian President

Dmitry Medvedev (2008-2012)

President

- head of the state

- direct popular vote (since 2012)

- domestic and foreign policies

- commander in chief, decides matters of national security

- protects human rights, (resolves issues of citizenship)

- NOT part of the three branches of power

- Appoints the head of government (prime minister) with approval of Duma

- Can dissolve the government

Upper house

the council of federation

Lower house

the state duma

The council of federation

- interests of federal subjects: two representatives from each

- 170+ senators

- not elected, chosen by elected legislative entity and by the official head of a federal subject OR appointed by the president (10%)

- chairman of federation council is the third most important position after the president and the prime minister

The state duma

- elected by the population for 5 years

- 450 deputies

- leading political party: United Russia (Putin's Party) holds 324 seats

Leading political party

Putin's party

United Russia, Communist, Liberal Democratic Party, A just Russia, New people

major political parties in order of popularity

Council of federation duties

- approves or rejects laws issued by the Duma

- approves or rejects territorial changes between federal subjects

- approves presidential announcement of the state of emergency

- approves or dismisses the prosecutor general

The state Duma duties

- creates laws

- can initiate impeachment

- consents appointment of prime minister

- government reports its work to the duma

- approves or dismisses the chairman of the central bank and the commissioner for human rights

Judicial branch

supreme court and constitutional court

Supreme court

- highest judicial body for civil, administrative, criminal, and economic cases

- heads the system of courts of jurisdiction and the system of commercial courts

Constitutional court

resolves cases regarding the constitutionality of normative legal acts of all levels

the federation council, President, President

Judges of the constitutional court and the supreme court are appointed by ________________ on proposal of _________. Judges of federal courts are appointed by ____________.

Importance of Medvedev's interim

- Putin said he would abide by the constitution and not run for a third term

- He announced he will be heading the United Russia party in upcoming elections, when the party won, Putin announced his support of Medvedev, Medvedev announced he would appoint Putin as prime minister if he won

- Medvedev won the presidential election

Navalny

leading protest with anticorruption slogans, arrested, bigger protests

Non-systemic opposition

banned from national TV, media, and Russian internet

Systemic opposition

Opposition political parties which operate officially within the Russian political system because they are formally registered with the government and legally allowed to run for office. Some of these parties are aligned with United Russia to create an "approved opposition" to the ruling party.

Smart voting app

app used to track voting through geol, created by United Russia

Navalny smart voting system

direct voters to vote for candidates most likely to defeat United Russia candidates (Putin's Party)

2024 election similarities

- other candidates are pre-selected

- real candidates are not allowed

- media rhetoric is Putin focused

- most people do not understand the role of the president/administration

2024 election differences

- election is spread over a 3 day period

- people are tired of the current situation

- many are still hurting after the death of Navalny

2024 election results

Putin wins with 87.26%

2024 election aftermath

- marking ballots with Navalny or no to war

- setting voting places on fire or throwing Molotov's cocktails

- pouring paint into ballot boxes

- multiple arrests made

Lenin's time

spreading socialism and establishing the USSR

Stalin's time

cold war

Post Stalin's time: Khrushev, Brezhev, etc

cold war, maintain soviet control

Gorvachev/Yelstin's time

overcoming cold war

Putin's time

restoring the superpower

Treaty of Brest-Li

Soviet Russia loses western and southern terretories

The Treaty of Versailles

Germany and allied nations signed, USSR was not part of treaty or negotiations

The Treaty of Rapallo

between Germany and Soviet Union, renounced all territorial and financial claims to each other, first acknowledgement of the Soviet Union

Munich agreement significance

Sudetendland area of Czechoslovakia is given to Germany per this agreement

Ribbentrop

- Nonagression pact between Russia And Nazi Germany

- Secret agreement: reshaping of Europe's map

- Led to carving up of Poland by Nazi Germany and the USSR

- Annexation by the USSR of eastern Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Bessarabia

- western parts of Ukraine and Belarus, formerly Polish territory, were also incorporated into the Soviet Union

26.6 million

number of people lost by the Soviet Union in WWII

Marshall plan significance

aid rapid economic reconstruction of Western Europe to avoid the spread of socialism

Khrushchev foreign policy positives

improvement of relationships with the Western (capitalist) countries, tenporary improvement of relationship with the US, ban on testing nuclear weapons

Khrushchev foreign policy negatives

- criticism of Stalin led to strained relationships with a number of countries and soviet republics: China, Yugoslavia, Albania, Georgian republic

- liberalization led to an increase in people fleeing from East Germany to West, authorized the construction of the Berlin Wall

- Better relationship with the West is criticized inside the country (communist party), he needs to demonstrate he is a strong leader, USSR installs missiles in Cuba in response to the US installing missiles in Turkey: Cuban missile crisis

Brezhnev' Doctrine

Soviet foreign policy that allowed Warsaw pact troops to intervene in any eastern bloc nation if they attempt to change their course away from the communist rule and Soviet domination

Gorbachev's connection to the Fall of the Berlin Wall

started the unstoppable process of ending the communist regimes in European countries of the Eastern bloc, led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, ironically against the wishes of Gorbachev

Directions of foreign policy after the dissolution of the USSR

main goal was to overcome the hostility of the cold war to improve the economic situation in Russia

What is the Commonwealth of Independent States

all former Soviet Republics except for the 3 baltic states (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia) are or were the members of the CIS at some point

Main goals of Putin's politics after 2003

preserve the unity of Russia and to make Russia a strong competitor in the world economic system

Periods in the US-Russia relationship positive:

1900s, 2001 (9/11), 2009-2013

Periods in the US-Russia relationship negative:

2000s, 2014

Annexation of Crimea (how it happened)

Sochi olympics with massive military presence, polite green men take over Crimea without any military action, oversee a referendum which most people vote to leave Ukraine and join Russia

First wave of refugees

early February, Russia's Rostov region had opened 15 border crossings for refugees from the Eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas

Second wave of refugees

to Western Ukraine, to Poland and other European countries

February 24, 2022

start of the war

February-early March 2022

Russian troops advance into Ukraine from various directions reaching the suburbs of Kiev. Ukraine mobilizes and Ukrainian army demonstrates an unexpected level of motivation to defend the country (unexpected by Russians and the international community)

March, 2022

Russian troops leave the central part of Ukraine and focus on the Eastern front. Ukrainian army in desperate need of weapons.

Spring-most of summer 2022

the sides experience various levels of defeats and victories. Russian army employs carpet bombing strategies destroying several Ukrainian cities

August-September 2022

Ukrainian counter-offensive moves Russia troops out of several key regions in Eastern Ukraine

Fall 2022-now

Ukrainian army is making slow advances into the territories controlled by the Russian army

Putin's address to the nation: Sept 21, 2022

announced the annexation of 4 parts of Ukraine and partial mobilization

September 30, 2022

Russia officially annexes 4 Ukrainian regions party occupied by Russian forces: people in Luhansk and Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia became citizens of Russia. Ukrainian troops freed the city of Liman 4 hours after the annexation was announced, constantly changing

Sept-Oct 2022

Russia starts partial mobilization that is de facto carried as total mobilization

War-related sanctions and their effect on Russia

- several thousand of economic sanctions were imposed on Russia

- most foreign companies left Russia

- some countries have limited or prepared to limit the purchase of Russian oil and gas: main source of income for the Russian national budget

Most recent events

- Ukraine regularly attacks Russian territory with drones, most target oil refineries

- Ukraine regularly attacks Russian fleet in the Black sea

- Ukraine reguarly conducts military attacks (using drones and shelling) on the Belgorod oblast (borders Ukraine)

- in the last few months, sabotage groups the Siberian Battalion and the Russian Volunteer Corps were attacking Russian military targets in border regions

- Freedom for Russia Legion: a group of Russian dissidents fighting for Ukraine which has previously claimed responsibility

- Main goal: liberation of the Russian regions from the Kremlin terrorist regime