The Russian Federation

Standard 1 (Institutions)

1. Essential Vocabulary

authoritarian regime - political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political status quo, and reductions of democracy, separation of powers, civil liberiteis and the rule of law

USSR - Led by Lenin created Soviet Union and communists assassinated tsar, communists party created single-party dictatorship and established Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Federal Assembly - both Duma and Federation Council together

State Duma - directly elected lower house of Russian parliament that represents the people. Is able to pass laws, confirm the prime minister, and begin impeachment proceeding against the president.

State Council - advisory body that putin chooses and they coordinate how the country is run

parliamentary-hybrid - prime minister and president

federal republic - indirect democracy, people choose representatives to make decisions on their behalf

oblasts - a region, equivalent to an American state

Federation Council - higher chamber in parliament, approves judges nominated by putin

asymmetric federalism - a system in which some regions have more formal power and autonomy than others

semi-presidential system - both a prime minister. and president

dual executive - both president AND prime minister, very similar to tandemocracy

democratization - transition from an authoritarian regime to a democratic one

tandemocracy - when medvedev and putin swapped places (president and prime minister) and swapped back

code law - collection of all the laws in force, including the enacted laws and case law, covering a complete legal system or specific area

Constitutional Court - verifies laws and other acts of the highest bodies of state power of the Russian Federation, empowered to rule on whether certain laws or presidentail decrees are contrary to the 1993 constitution

Supreme Court - the highest court and last resort in russian administrative law

super districts - 89 total districts, putin created 7 super districts so he can talk to 7 people, centralized power

2. People to Know

Vladimir Putin - current leader, been there since 1999, steadily more authoritarian, reasonably democratic in first two terms

Josef Stalin - makes the USSR, collectivization of farms and industrialization (forces russia to industrialize), secret police, extreme authoritarianism

Leonid Brezhnev - last of old style leaders, wanted status quo

Mikhail Gorbachev - reformer who oversees end of Soviet Union, glasnost, perestroika,

Dmitri Medvedev - putin’s bff, always #2 fiddle

Boris Yeltsen - first elected leader of russia, writes and pases 1993 constitution

3. Essential Questions

a. how is government power divided in Russia between national and regional governments?

• asymmetrical federalism, some states have more money, power, and authority than others. local governments run local stuff

b. who holds the executive power, how is he/she chosen, what is the term, how is his/her power limited and how is he/she removed?

• the president holds executive power, chosen by a vote and must win 51% or there is a run off election, 6 year term, can technically be impeached by Duma and removed from office

c. what is the function and structure of the legislative branch, how are members chosen, what are their terms, how are they removed, and what are the checks on legislative power?

• Duma and Federation Council. Duma chosen half by proportional representation, half by first-past-the-post. Five year terms. President can call for reelection of Duma at any time. Checks on their power is the President.

d. what is the source of law in russia?

• 1993 constitution

e. what is the function and structure of the judicial branch, how are the mmebrs chosen, and what are the checks on judifical power

• weakest branch of government. constitutional court that on paper has the power of judicial review, 19 members appointed by putin, seperate supreme court that is the final court of appeals in civil and criminal matters, can be impeached, Duma can over rule them. rule by law not rule of law

Standard 2 (Political Culture)

1. Essential Vocabulary

multinational state - state that contains two or more national groups, where no single group is dominant demographically, culturally, and politically

Chechens - kisti and durdzuks are a northeast caucasian ethnic group of the nakh peoples native to the north caucasus, sunni muslims

Tartars - ethnic muslims in Russia, want to break away from Russia

Russian Orthodox Church - after the Soviet Union fell, the orthodox church made a revival, Putin encourages and pays for it, is a form of legitimacy for Putin, “Putin’s a gift from God”

Crimea - peninsula that was occupied and annexed by Russia but most countires recognize it as Ukrainian territory

Ukraine - second largest country in europe and seperated from russia in 1991 but is being invaded currently

rural - farmland, really poor, most being sent to fight, stealing washing machines and air conditioners

urban - city, Moscow, most people live here

Roskomnadzor - Russia’s internet censoring system, makes sure media pormotes putin

RT - Russia Today, official propaganda organization of the government

Echo Russia - last free radio station in Russia where you can get real news, now shut down

siloviki - ex military officials & ex-KGB officers that run government offices and major oil companies, guys that Putin trusts

patrion-clientelism -

statism - the people’s belief that you need a strong central government to run things, russian’s believe you’re only safe tpgether

nomenklatura - the list of people who are trusted and loyal to putin that are going to be promoted up, jobs people get to show that they’re on the in

personality cult - devleoped image of Putin, created a cult around himself

2. Essential Questions

a. what is the role of civil society in Russia and what are the limits placed on it?

• heavy heavy restricts, no more role of civil society, nevelny was one of the last members of civil society, everyone thrown in jail

b. what factors have affected politicial culture in Russia?

• demographic curve, not enough babies, alcoholism kills most men in russia, cleavages are rural vs urban and slavic vs western

c. how do political ideologies affect how Russia treats its citizens and deals with specific problems like corruption?

• the people expect the government to be in charge and tell them what to do, accepts the government being incompetent, corruption is basically a given and is in all parts of Russian society

d. is political participation in russia voluntary or coerced, and what is the nature of political participation in Russia?

• mostly coerced, voting is rigged, workers paid to march, Nevelny was the only one that could bring people out on free will

e. what ideals and/or policies in Russia support political participation of citizens?

• nationalism, they loved the invasion of Crimea, anything putin can do to talk about the greatness of russia will bring russians out. huge popularity boost after invasion of Crimea

f. to what extent are civil rights and civil liberites protected/restricted in Russia?

• heavily restricted, it’s illegal to protest, associate with foreigners, foreign NGO’s to be in russia, to give money to a ukrainian organization

g. what role does the media play in the political culture of Russia?

• the media plays a massive role in russia, is the only channel and always on, heavily skewed “special operation in Ukraine” not a war, not fighting Ukrainians, fighting NATO and America, massive amounts of propaganda

h. what political and social cleavages are found in Russia and how do these cleaves affect voting behavior, legitimacy, and stability in Russia?

• urban vs rural and slavic vs western, putin legitimacy comes from holding election,s russian orthodocx church, 1993 constitution, once a year answers 100 questions about anything and everything, voting behavior essentially nonexistent

i. identify separatist movements that impact the stability and legitimacy of the Russian Federation

• Chechnya conflict, two wars in Chechnya, put kadriov in there as a strong man to run it, war in ukraine (1M casulaties in 2 years), fighting over religion and want their own countries because they do not consider themselves russian

Standard 3 (Electoral & Party Systems)

1. Essential Vocabulary

proportional representation (PR) model - the entire country votes for half of the Duma, your party needs to receive 7% to get any seats

two-ballot format - one election to get 51%, if nobody gets 51% then run off election

absolute majority - over 50%

United Russia - Putin’s party

dominant party system - 1 party system, other parties are just for show, just United Russia

Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRK) - communist party from USSR, still gets 15-20% of votes, wants to go back to Soviet Union times

Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) -

Yabloko - the only true liberal democratic party in Russia, almost extinct veryeon arrested

A Just Russia (Fair Russia) - Putin created opposition patty there just to make up numbers

Public Chamber - civic chamber of the russian federation, 168 members analyze draft legislation

Corporatism - control of a state or organization by large interest groups

Nashi - russina youth org that Putin created to garner support

illiberal democracy - mimics liberal democracy, hold elections but theyre not free and fair

transitional democracy - a phase in a country’s political system as a result of an ongoing change from an authoritarian regime to a democratic one

municipal filter - legal mechanism that requires candidates running for regional governenr positions to secure endorsements from a certain percentage of municipal deputies

referendum - direct vote by the people asking to reject or accept a specific proposal

Slavophile - two demographics, traditonal

Westernizer - one of two demographics, want

Federal Public Chamber -

2. Essential Questions

a. how are members of Duma elected?

• half PR half FPTP

b. how are the members of the federation council selected? what are the advantages and disadvantages of this system?

• federation council appointed by governor of region and local official efficient but theres no pluralism,

c. describe russia’s party system

• based on individuals not ideologies, Navalny, Putin

d. how do minor parties and regional parties achieve representation and power within Russia’s party system?

• you have to win a seat somwehere or they don’t have any representation

e. what is unique about Russia’s process of selecting a prime minister?

• the president chooses the prime minister, in every other country the Duma chooses it

f. how has the russian government responded to protests by members of the LBGTQ community?

• they throw all of them in jail and deny that they’re gay

g. how does the lack of competition between Russia’s political parties affect representation and political participation?

• serious lack of political participation, everyone who opposes Putin is thrown in jail

Standard 4 (Economic Influences)

1. Essential Vocabulary

communism - advocates for class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned adn each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs

mixed economy - an economic system combining private and public enterprise

command economy - old USSR under Stalin, the government tells the industry what to make

collectivization - all farmers put together

Five Year Plans - industrial target, Stalin in 1928 wants to industrialize the world so you have 5 years to produce this much everything, everyone is working in factories

Perestroika - economic restructuring by gorbachev

Shock Therapy - during the 90s with yeltsin, soviet economy was dead and he tried to shock it back to life, result was 100 billionaires and everyone else is broke

state-owned enterprises (SOEs) - when the state owns the banks, oil companies, cement makers, and can employ lots of people, highly inefficient

Glasnost - by gorbachev, political openess, free media

demokratizatsiya - you have to be a communist member but there should be a vote for everything

loan for shares scandal - during Yeltsin, when he privatized every industry and normal people would buy shares but all the insiders bought everything

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty org, defensive org that is moving towards russia, attack on one is an attack on all

2. Essential Questions

a. how have global economic and technological forces influenced political parties, behavior, and culture in Russia?

• Russians want to own western things and Putin tried to keep the country open to western products

b. how was russia managed control of natural resources? how has that control resulted in wealth concentration?

• Putin has used natural resources to influence other countries. All of Europe relied on Russian gas 2 years ago, used it to control Chechnya and other countries, Siloviki control the industry, 30 billionaries and everyone else is poor

c. how has globalization influenced domestic policies in Russia?

d. what is a rentier state? what are the advantages and disadvantages for Russia of being a rentier state?

• sells a natural product like gas and oil in the form of rent to pay the bills, russia exports oil and gas and that is what funds the economy, the government does not need the people in a rentier state. Putin can do anything without asking, disadvantage is massive corruption, lack of economic growth, and is why the population is shrinking. Theres no future in Russia. Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE

e. how has russia responded to the demographic pressures of shrinking population?

• National Conception day, given out prizes to women who had the most babies but nothing has worked

f. how has russia approached membership in supranational organizations?

• Russia wants to be in supranational organization like the UN or Nato and everyone wanted them there two years ago as it legitimizes Putin and Russia but is not going to give up any soveriegnty

g. what impact has putin’s renationalization of oil and natural gas industries and limits on foreign invested had on russia?

• Putin kicked out big oil companies after renationalizing them, but Russians aren’t as good at getting oil out of the ground like the West

7.1

a. why was the Putin administration able to centralize power in a strong executive?

• Putin came into power in a very chaotic and unstable economic period. He was able to centralize power as a means of stabilizing the economy and the state and show the Russian people the strength of unity and appear to have their best interests in mind.

b. why was federalism weak in Russia?

• The 1993 Consitution set up a federal strucutre but did not clearly outline the divison of power among states. Because Russia is a multiethnic state, different regions asked for different amounts of power.

c. define legitimacy

• Legitimacy is the people’s belief that their leader should be the one in charge.

d. explain how an authoritarian state could increase legitimacy?

• An authoritarian state can increase legitimacy by showing strong economic growth, promote nationalism, and depict themselves as the defender and protector of their state like Putin does.

e. explain why authoritarian stares may have difficulty maintaining legitimacy?

• The lack of free election and complete restriction of civil society may cause unrest in citizens and regimes and cause them to lose legitimacy.

f. explain how international pressure impacts legitimacy

• Sanctions or restrictions on trade can lead to domestic economic hardship and cause citizens to question legitimacy.

7.2

a. under what circumstances could Russia’s legislative and judicial branches gain greater autonomy and independence from the executive?

• There needs to be political reform by the executive and reforms aimed at decentralizing power needs to be input as the current government under Putin has massively centralized governmental power to the executive.

b. define judicial independence

• Judicial independence is the ability for the judicial branch to make decisions in court cases without influence from the other branches of government.

c. explain how judicial independence has been constrained in Russia and one other AP Comparative Government and Politics course country.

• In Russia, judicial independence has been constrained as many of the justices are directly appointed by Putin, and they are used to carry out political vendettas for Putin. In Mexico, the Mexican president and the executive branch hold significant influence over the judicial system as the president has the power to appoint Supreme Court justices, as well as judges in lower courts. The judges are more lijely to align with the interests of the ruling party or president.

d. explain why russia and the course country you described in part B constrained judicial indepdnence

• Russia contrains judicial independence to caryr our personal vendettas against politicla opponents while Mexico does this to pass legislature easier as the judges ar emore likely to rule in ways that favor the president.