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Modern Russia

  • Kremlin

    • The “white house” of Russia

    • Centralized → very powerful

  • Shock therapy

    • Going from one side of the economic/political spectrum to the other very quickly

    • USSR: communism → capitalism

      • “Boys in Reeboks”: American advisors that suggested the sudden change

    • Consequences:

      • Prices increase

      • Less government subsidies

        • Subsidy: money granted by the government

      • Increases unemployment

      • Creates class division

  • Oligarchs

    • Small groups of extremely wealthy businessmen

      • Got their wealth from privatization during shock therapy

    • Political influence using wealth/bribery

      • Influence on election outcome

      • Claim questionable tax breaks

      • Access to special licenses

  • Boris Yeltsin, 1991-1999

    • First popularly elected president of Russia

    • Stopped hardliner communists from throwing a coup against Gorbachev

      • End of the USSR → communists were upset

    • Changes:

      • Freedom to speak openly

      • Freedom to travel

      • Presidential + parliamentary elections

      • Funneled enormous wealth into the hands of a few → oligarchs

        • Economic reforms hurt more then helped

        • Caused political + social division

  • Personalist autocrat (Vladimir Putin)

    • Run by lone individuals

    • Higher levels of corruption

      • Whatever policies/officials they want

    • Slower economic growth

      • Less focused on the betterment of the state

    • Greater repression

      • Target political opponents

      • Censor/punish protests and dissent

    • Less stable policies

    • Informal inner circle for advice

  • Rehabilitation of Stalin’s image

    • Downplaying his mistakes

      • Purged millions

      • Gulags (labor camps)

    • Playing up his successes

      • Built nationalism

    • Under Putin, people’s support for Stalin rose

  • FSB

    • “Federal Security Service”

    • Successor to KGB

      • Secret Soviet police

  • Magnitsky Act

    • Bill Browed: richest foreign investor in Russia

      • Expelled by Putin → sent lawyer Magnitsky

        • Kept in prison, tortured, killed

    • Magnitsky Act: sanction that froze the American bank accounts of the officials involved in Magnitsky’s death

      • Still active

  • Alexei Navalny

    • Putin’s greatest political opponent

      • Poisoned him → survived → currently in jail

    • Shows how dissent in Russia is dealt with

    • Political martyr

  • Ukraine

    • Yanukovich = Ukrainian president

      • Chose closer ties with Russia over joining the European Union

        • Euromaiden protest → want to join the EU

        • Russia wants Ukraine to be loyal → Putin needs Ukraine for his future plans

  • Crimea

    • Referendum by Russia on whether or not they wanted to be annexed

      • Said yes → EU assumes it was forced → sanctions

  • Syria

    • Russia supports dictator Bashar al-Assad

      • Gets to fight US through proxy war

        • US is against Assad

      • Say in the Middle East

      • Reclaim their old naval base in the Mediterranean

      • Sell weapons to Assad to make money

Modern Russia

  • Kremlin

    • The “white house” of Russia

    • Centralized → very powerful

  • Shock therapy

    • Going from one side of the economic/political spectrum to the other very quickly

    • USSR: communism → capitalism

      • “Boys in Reeboks”: American advisors that suggested the sudden change

    • Consequences:

      • Prices increase

      • Less government subsidies

        • Subsidy: money granted by the government

      • Increases unemployment

      • Creates class division

  • Oligarchs

    • Small groups of extremely wealthy businessmen

      • Got their wealth from privatization during shock therapy

    • Political influence using wealth/bribery

      • Influence on election outcome

      • Claim questionable tax breaks

      • Access to special licenses

  • Boris Yeltsin, 1991-1999

    • First popularly elected president of Russia

    • Stopped hardliner communists from throwing a coup against Gorbachev

      • End of the USSR → communists were upset

    • Changes:

      • Freedom to speak openly

      • Freedom to travel

      • Presidential + parliamentary elections

      • Funneled enormous wealth into the hands of a few → oligarchs

        • Economic reforms hurt more then helped

        • Caused political + social division

  • Personalist autocrat (Vladimir Putin)

    • Run by lone individuals

    • Higher levels of corruption

      • Whatever policies/officials they want

    • Slower economic growth

      • Less focused on the betterment of the state

    • Greater repression

      • Target political opponents

      • Censor/punish protests and dissent

    • Less stable policies

    • Informal inner circle for advice

  • Rehabilitation of Stalin’s image

    • Downplaying his mistakes

      • Purged millions

      • Gulags (labor camps)

    • Playing up his successes

      • Built nationalism

    • Under Putin, people’s support for Stalin rose

  • FSB

    • “Federal Security Service”

    • Successor to KGB

      • Secret Soviet police

  • Magnitsky Act

    • Bill Browed: richest foreign investor in Russia

      • Expelled by Putin → sent lawyer Magnitsky

        • Kept in prison, tortured, killed

    • Magnitsky Act: sanction that froze the American bank accounts of the officials involved in Magnitsky’s death

      • Still active

  • Alexei Navalny

    • Putin’s greatest political opponent

      • Poisoned him → survived → currently in jail

    • Shows how dissent in Russia is dealt with

    • Political martyr

  • Ukraine

    • Yanukovich = Ukrainian president

      • Chose closer ties with Russia over joining the European Union

        • Euromaiden protest → want to join the EU

        • Russia wants Ukraine to be loyal → Putin needs Ukraine for his future plans

  • Crimea

    • Referendum by Russia on whether or not they wanted to be annexed

      • Said yes → EU assumes it was forced → sanctions

  • Syria

    • Russia supports dictator Bashar al-Assad

      • Gets to fight US through proxy war

        • US is against Assad

      • Say in the Middle East

      • Reclaim their old naval base in the Mediterranean

      • Sell weapons to Assad to make money

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