Russian Political Culture & What Russians Quarrel About

1. Russian Political Culture & What Russians Quarrel About

2. Political Culture Equality of Result Communist regime instilled in Russian people an appreciation for equality Russian egalitarianism has survived fall of USSR; most Russians resent differences of wealth or income “equality of result” Different from “equality of opportunity”, which sees getting ahead as sign of initiative hard work, talent As result – Russian political culture not particularly conducive to development of capitalism

3. Skepticism about Power Despite dependence on gov’t – can be hostile toward particular leadership i.e. glasnost under Gorbachev in the 1980s He received complaints from citizens that likely ultimately helped lead to the break up of USSR Surveys today show citizens have little faith in political system Have more faith in Putin than in other leaders or institutions Putin’s approval rating stayed between 70 & 80 % Also have little faith in nongovernmental leaders: entrepreneurs, bankers, media personalities

4. Importance of Nationality Cultural heterogeneity traditional characteristic of Russian political culture Tend to categorize others based on their nationalities “otherizing” them Discriminate against groups based on long-held stereotypes Admire the civility of the British Disdain for Muslim-Turkic people of Central Asia In return: gov’ts in those areas have passed laws discouraging Russians from remaining w/in their borders Anti-Semitism was strong in tsarist Russia Today, some nationalists blame Jews for current problems

5. Russians did vote during Soviet rule Voting rate close to 100% b/c faced serious consequences if didn’t participate But until Gorbachev (1985-1991), elections not competitive & citizens voted for candidates that were hand picked by Communist leadership Gorbachev created competitive elections in USSR, but b/c no alternate political parties existed yet, voter choice limited to designated party candidate vs anyone from w/in the party that wanted to challenge official candidate In some cases this was significant: Boris Yeltsin elected as an “alternate candidate” to be president of Russian Federation Voting Patterns

6. Since 1991 – voter turnout has been fairly high Higher than in USA, but lower than in Britain & France Political alienation reflected in 50.3% rate in 1993 Duma elections, but those elections followed failed attempt by Duma to take over the country Voter turnouts in December 2003 Duma elections just under 56% But voter turnouts for presidential elections w/ almost 75% of eligible citizens voting in the first presidential election in 1991, < 65% voting in 2004

7. Citizens, Society, and the State Cleavages Nationality: most important cleavage 80% Russian Country includes sizeable numbers of Tatars, Ukrainians, Armenians, Chuvashes, Bashkis, Byelorussians, Moldavians Determine the organization of the country into “federation” w/ “autonomous regions”: republics w/ borders based on ethnicity Many would like to have independence – but have trade benefits w/ Russia’s gov’t Notable exception: Chechnya: Muslim region in the Caucasus that has fought for years for freedom Russian gov’t have difficulty keeping Chechnya part of Russia Chechens involved in terrorist acts In effort to gain legitimacy in Chechnya, Russian’ gov’t used referendum to vote on new constitution for the region – approved by Chechens, even though declares it an “inseparable part” of Russia

8. Religion Tsarist Russia overwhelming Orthodox w/ tsar as spiritual leader Soviet Union prohibited religious practices of all kinds Most citizens lost religious affiliations Yeltsin encouraged Russian Orthodox Church to reestablish itself, partly as signal of his break w/ Soviet Union, but also as reflection of old Russian nationalism Today: most ethnic Russians identify themselves as Russian Orthodox But still largely nonreligious Only small % actually attend services

9. Other religions represented in small %s – Roman Catholics, Jews, Muslim, Protestant B/c current regime so new, political parties uncertain – no clear pattern to indicate political attitudes regarding religious vs nonreligious citizens Rapid rise of Muslims in recent years – more Muslims than any other European country except Turkey Concentrated in 3 areas Moscow: large share of laborers The Caucasus: area between Black Sea & Caspian Sea; repression of Chechens, intermittent violence, biggest issue for trying to cultivate Russia’s role in Muslim affairs Bashkortostan & Tatarstan: generally calmer than Caucasus; Tatarstan’s president accompanies Putin as he tried to restructure Russia’s image as country supportive of Islam

10. Religion & Ethnic Groups in Russia Religion Russian Orthodox: 15-20% Muslim: 10-15% Other Christian: 2% Note: estimates are of practicing worshipers; Russia has large numbers of non-practice believers and non-believers, a legacy of Soviet rule http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2005/08/murder_in_st_pe.html Ethnic Groups Russian: 79.8% Tatar: 3.8% Ukrainian: 2% Chuvash: 1.1% Other: 12.1%

11. Rural vs. Urban Industrialization since era of Stalin has led to an increasingly urban population 73% now live in cities, primarily in western part Economic divide between rural & urban people is wide – but recent economic woes challenged almost all Russians, regardless of where they live City dwellers more likely to be educated & in touch w/ western culture, but political consequences of these differences are unclear in unsettled political climate

12. Social Class Soviet attempts to eliminate social class at least partially successful Noble/peasant levels of tsarist Russia abolished But was replaced by another cleavage: members of Communist Party vs nonmembers All political leaders recruited from members only Economic favors given to members But promotions w/in Party egalitarian – recruiting new leaders generally blind to economic / social background Today: Russians appear to be more egalitarian in their political & social views than people of established democracies

13. A new socio-economic class may be developing w/in context of market economy Entrepreneurs have recently amassed fortunes from new business fortunes Yeltsin contributed to new class by distributing huge favors to them Many believe that a small but powerful group of entrepreneurs sponsored Putin in 2000 Under Putin: oligarchs have been challenged b/c of various alleged & real illegal activities, esp. underpayment of taxes http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/russia602/

14. Beliefs and Attitudes Marxism fed into Russian nationalism & supported notion that the Russian gov’t & way of life would eventually prevail Ideals of revolutionary era envisioned a world transformed by egalitarianism & elimination of poverty Stalinism ideals shifted to pragmatic internal development, tendencies toward absolutism, repression returned

15. Collapse of Soviet Union brought out much hostility toward gov’t that is reflected in attitudes of Russian citizens today Mistrust of the government: limited evidence does reflect a great deal of alienation toward political system People support democratic ideals, including free elections & widespread individual civil liberties & rights But most do not trust gov’t officials or institutions to convert those ideals to reality Alienation also indicated by low level of participation in interest groups Contradicted by high level of approval for Putin (of course, other leaders don’t share his popularity)

16. Statism: despite high levels of mistrust, citizens still expect the state to take an active role in their lives For most of Russian history, Russians function more as subjects than participants Today: Russians expect great deal from gov’t – even if have been disappointed in progress of reform Economic beliefs: Yeltsin’s market reforms created divisions Nearly all parties & electoral groups support market transition, but those w/ more favorable opinions of old Soviet regime are less enthusiastic Other end of spectrum – those that support rapid market reform, including privatization & limited gov’t regulation – favored by Yeltsin Yeltsin’s “shock therapy” marketization was blamed by his critics for steep economic decline of 1990s

17. Westernization: political opinion follows old divide of slavophile vs. westernizer Some political parties emphasize nationalism, defense of Russian interests & Slavic culture Also tend to favor strong military & protection from foreign economic influence Reform parties strongly support integration of Russia into world economy & global trade

18. Economic beliefs & attitudes toward the west Shape attitudes about whether or not the modern regime should integrate elements of the old Soviet gov’t into its policymaking Some are nostalgic for “good old days” when everyone had guaranteed income, most likely to support Communist party that still exists w/in competitive election system Some seeing generational split between those that remember better times under Soviet power & those that came of age during early days of Russian Federation

19. Linkage Institutions Political Parties Highly unstable & fluid during 1990s Since 2000 – more & more power centralized in Putin’s party (United Russia) So that by presidential elections of early 2004 – no strong opposing political parties Russians put their party & electoral systems together “overnight” after Revolution 1993 Many small, factional parties By 1999 the number of parties who ran Duma candidates shrunk, but many parties were new

20. United Russia Founded April 2001 as merger of Fatherland All-Russia Party & Unity Party of Russia Put together by oligarch Boris Berezovksy & other entrepreneurs to support Putin in presidential election 2000 Put even more political support behind Putin Election 2003 Won 221 of 450 Duma seats Figure underestimates party’s strength since many minor parties are Putin supporters / clients

21. Communist Party of the Russian Federation 2nd strongest party in Duma Have not yet won a presidential election Election 1995: 157 seats in Duma Lost seats in 1999, but party remained important force in Russian politics But party support dropped in 2003 parliamentary elections – winning 12.6% of vote & 51 seats Party leader: Gennady Zyuganov came in 2nd in presidential elections vs. Putin Party hurt by break-away faction led by Vladimir Tikhonov CPRF not = to old CPSU – but is less reformist than other parties Zyuganov opposed many reforms under Gorbachev, continues to represent to voters the stability of old regime Party emphasizes centralized planning, nationalism, implies intention to regain territories lost when USSR split

22. Reformist Parties – has 2 that have been consistently reformist, but both are in jeopardy of disappearing Yabloko: taken strongest stand for pro-democracy Does best among intellectuals Leader: Grigori Yavlinski Won 4 seats in Duma in 2003 Union of Right Forces: name implies they are “right” in the sense of understanding the truth Emphasizes development of free market Backs further privatization of industry 3 seats in Duma in 2003

23. Liberal Democrats Leader: Vladimir Zhirinovsky Extreme nationalist positions Regularly attacks reformist leaders – particularly disliked Yeltsin Has implied Russia, under his leadership, would use nuclear weapons on Japan Makes anti-Semitist remarks (despite Jewish origins) Sexist comments 2003 Duma elections: 37 seats Overall since 1993 – ideological parties have faded in importance & replaced by parties of power – parties strongly sponsored by economic & political power-holders (United Russia)

24. Interest Groups In Soviet Union – interest groups only allowed under state corporatism – controlled by the gov’t Decision-making took place in Central Committee & Politburo If any outside contacts influenced policy, generally were confined to Party members When state-owned industries up for sale, those that bought them for almost nothing were generally insiders This collection of oligarchs may be defined loosely as an interest group b/c have been a major influence on policymaking process during formation of Russian Federation

25. The Oligarchy Closely tied to Yeltsin’s family Took advantage of his inattention to presidency Monopolized Russian industries, built BIG fortunes Boris Berezovsky: admitted 1997 that he & 6 others controlled over ½ of Russian GNP Used media to insure Yeltsin’s reelection in 1996 Helped organize Unity Party in 2000 to help get Putin elected Putin showed resistance to oligarchs’ control Arrests, fines, exile over corruption, back taxes, etc Other oligarchs headed Putin’s warnings, largely w/drew from politics

26. State Corporatism Where state determines which groups have input into policymaking Well established under Putin Russian gov’t established vast, state-owned holding companies in variety of industries If companies appear too independent, gov’t doesn’t force them to sell Cites legal infractions to force sales Either gov’t-controlled companies, or companies seen as loyal to Putin are beneficiaries A.k.a.: insider privatization

27. State Corporatism in Russia

28. Russian Mafia Controls more than underworld crime Gained power during chaotic time after Revolution of 1991 Control: local businesses, natural resources, banks Thrive on: payoffs from businesses (protection $$), money laundering, deals made w/ Russian gov’t officials including members of former KGB Huge fortunes by oligarchs and mafia offend sensibilities of most Russian citizens who value equality of result In past, lawlessness has been dealt w/ by repressive, authoritarian rule, these groups represent major threat to survival of new democracy

29. Russian Media Newspapers & TV stations privately owned, but state controls many of them Instances of reporters commenting on political actions & decisions, but how much freedom they have is unclear Kremlin used state-controlled company to buy independent TV network: NTV Russian media circles suspicious of alleged poisoning of Anna Politkovkaya, one of most outspoken critics of gov’ts policies on Chechneya March 2007: correspondent Ivan Safronov killed in a fall from the window in his Moscow apartment

30. Status of freedom of press illustrated by media coverage of school seizure at Beslan in 2004 2 main news channels did not mention what was happening until an hour after explosions first heard at school When state-owned Russia TV & Channel One finally reported it, they returned to regularly scheduled programming NTV, however, owned by state-controlled Gazprom did have rolling coverage for 3 hours, even though it started late State corporatism appears to impacting the media business, just like oil, gas, aircraft, & auto industries

31. Public Policies & Current Issues The Economy Economic problems heart of USSR’s demise Gorbachev enacted his perestroika reforms – market economy programs inserted into traditional centralized state ownership Plans never fully implemented, partly b/c dissent w/in Politburo led to attempted coup

32. Question today: how much of the centralized planning economy should be eliminated, and how should the market economy be handled? “shock therapy” created chaotic conditions leading to small number of entrepreneurs running the economy 1997: bottom fell out when gov’t defaulted on billions in debts Stock market lost ½ its value Russian people suffered from sudden introduction of a free market Soviet gov’t: jobs were secure 1997: unemployment rates soared Ruble lost most of its value Oligarchs & mafia prospered – but everyone else w/ worse standard of living than before

33. Russian economy slowly improving By 2004 – showing strong signs of recovery Standard of living rising But many are still disillusioned w/ the new regime, question wisdom of policymakers Economy fueled by huge oil & gas reserves & corporations (mostly state owned) that run them If oil prices should fall, Russia’s economy will suffer To prepare for that: Russia is putting oil money into a Stabilization Fund as a reserves for state spending http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/moscow/

34. Foreign Policy USSR held hegemony over huge portions of the world for much of 20th century When USSR collapsed, dominance ended Yeltsin had to borrow $$ from USA to shake economic troubles Vladimir Putin set out to redefine Russia’s place in the world Relations with the near-abroad Weak Confederation of Independent States unites 15 Soviet republics; Russia leader of the group Little formal power over members Bound together through trade agreements Nationalities keep them from reaching common agreements Nationalities also threaten keeping Confederation together

35. Controversial move: Putin’s involvement in 2004 presidential elections in the Ukraine Putin campaigned for ultimate winner (Yanukovich) – leading to protests w/ claims that the election was fraudulent Elections held again, w/ Yushchenko winning – further straining relations w/ near-abroad Strained relations w/ Estonia when Estonia removed Soviet-era statue from public place in the capital Reaction from ethnic Russians living in Estonia, w/ hundreds attacking main theater Then computers went down all over Estonia the day after the protests, leading to Estonians blaming Russians for orchestrating the computer blackout Old ethnicities of the culturally heterogeneous Soviet Union still at odds

36. Relations w/ the West Biggest adjustment for Russia is loss of its superpower status from Cold War U.S. emerged as the lone superpower in 1991 U.S. sponsored aid packages to Russia to keep it from collapsing Once Russia established itself, U.S. & other G-7 nations welcomed it, creating G-8 Being able to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) would be a milestone in its integration w/ international economic community – is close to joining! Obama, Medvedev working closely to ensure this by end of 2010 Relations defined by oil & gas industries; access to oil, oil pipelines, etc. Relationship w/ Britain strained in 2006 b/c of espionage controversy in which Russian businessman accused of poisoning a former KGB officer & Kremlin critic After 9-11, relationship w/ USA seemed to improve, but more recently, Putin has been flexing muscles w/ USA In Munich in Feb 2007 – he accused the US of overstepping its national borders & exhibiting a disdain for international law

37. Terrorism Beslan school siege in 2004 most well known recent terrorist incident 2004: Putin argued that only a tighter grip from central gov’t would foil terrorists whose aim it was to force the country’s disintegration Laid out security measures, sweeping political reforms – top officials (including regional governors) would no longer be elected, but would be selected by the president, then approved by regional legislatures Duma approved his decision later that year

38. Re-Centralization of Power in the Kremlin? Some critics claim his desire for selection of regional governors is more than a response to terrorism – also part of re-centralization of power in the Kremlin Putin’s party is majority in Duma Kremlin controls major TV stations, Russian gas giants Unclear if these moves mark beginning of end of democracy in Russia, or simply a reaction to terrorism threats like US & Britain

39. Development of a Civil Society Notion of civil society starts w/ acceptance of 2 areas of life a public one defined by the gov’t & a private one where people are free to make their own individual choices Countries w/ strong civil society: people follow rules, operate w/ degree of trust toward others, generally have respectful dealings w/ others, even if gov’t not watching Aware of rule of law in public realm & privacy that exists out of it Democracy & capitalism both depend on civil society for successful operation

40. Russian Youth Groups Recently, Putin has created several youth movements to support the gov’t Largest is Nashi, others: Youth Guard, & Locals Effort to build a following of loyal, patriotic young people & defuse any youthful resistance that could emerge during 2008 election Support Putin! Critics see them as an arm of an increasingly authoritarian state

41. Civil Society Despite high voter turnouts, participation in other forms of political activities is relatively low Partly due to undeveloped civil society (private organizations & associations outside of politics) i.e.: don’t attend church on regular basis, don’t belong to sports or recreational clubs, literary or other cultural groups, charitable organization or labor unions Only 1% members in a political party But are not disengaged from politics – report they read newspapers regularly, watch news on TV, discuss politics

42. Civil Society seems to be growing in Russia Before 1917 Revolution – little civil society existed b/c of low economic development, authoritarianism, feudalism Soviet authorities argued that only the party could & should represent the people’s interests, so… state-sponsored organizations appeared in state corporatist arrangement w/ gov’t clearly in control of channeling voice of the people W/ advent of glasnost in 1980s – civil society slowly began to emerge Since then: Many organizations have formed to express points of view on many different issues: environment, ethnicity, gender, human rights, health care

43. Russians don’t necessarily share those assumptions – the inherent value of life, liberty, & property Have been much more influenced by traditions of statism – have a strong gov’t or die Despite proliferation of groups – gov’t restricts their activities, esp. groups that are openly critical of gov’t’s policies Rather than directly attacking the groups, gov’t used number of tactics to weaken them (investigating sources of income, making registration w/ authorities difficult, police harassment http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2007/05/russia_putin_vsgen.html#