Sovereignty, Authority, and Power in Russia
Russian Regime
Russian regime can be summed up as a centralized asymmetric federalism that is more dependent on coercion rather than consensus. The Russian federation is asymmetric, because regions closer to the capital possess more power than regions that are on the farther part of Russia. Russian regime is centralized and more coercive, because there is more power placed in the state than in the people of Russia.
Source of Legitimacy
- Legal-rational – moderate amount
ž -Putin was voted in by the people, so he possessed legal-rational legitimacy
ž -The state lacks legal-rational legitimacy
- Traditional – not entirely
ž -Putin has made changes and manipulated the system in order to maintain power
- Charismatic – a lot
ž -Putin is a highly charismatic figure in Russia
ž -Propaganda and censorship helps Putin maintain an attractive and powerful image
ž -Public opinion surveys on approval of Putin reveals that approval ratings have been constantly greater than 60% for over a decade, with the average of approximately 76%.
- Economic development
ž -Under Putin, Russia has economically grown
ž -Not just the rich getting richer, but the entire population’s standard of living has increased
ž -Even the lower class can afford a proper shelter
Russian Ideology
Nationalism is a central ideology in Russia. There are two types of nationalism within Russia. The first type is a broad sense of nationalism which includes all the peoples and religious groups that inhabited the land (beginning from or throughout the Russian Empire era and/or the USSR era). These specific nationalists are focused with reintegrating the former Soviet territories. The second type is a more specific and exclusive type of nationalism. Only the pure Russians (primarily Slavic) are considered to be the people who belong in Russia, and anyone who isn’t Slavic are considered to be “polluting” Russia.
Autonomy
Russia has a very strong sense of autonomy. The primary source of influence other nations had on Russia were economic sanctions; however, now that China and Russia are economic partners, Russia’s autonomy has grown stronger. Russia is rarely influenced by foreign states.
Helpful Resources:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/geneveith/2014/03/national-bolshevism-russias-new-ideology/
http://www.ut.ee/ABVKeskus/sisu/publikatsioonid/2010/pdf/Ossinovski_MA.pdf
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/29/russian-nationalism-kremlin-actions-ukraine
Russian Regime
Russian regime can be summed up as a centralized asymmetric federalism that is more dependent on coercion rather than consensus. The Russian federation is asymmetric, because regions closer to the capital possess more power than regions that are on the farther part of Russia. Russian regime is centralized and more coercive, because there is more power placed in the state than in the people of Russia.
Source of Legitimacy
- Legal-rational – moderate amount
ž -Putin was voted in by the people, so he possessed legal-rational legitimacy
ž -The state lacks legal-rational legitimacy
- Traditional – not entirely
ž -Putin has made changes and manipulated the system in order to maintain power
- Charismatic – a lot
ž -Putin is a highly charismatic figure in Russia
ž -Propaganda and censorship helps Putin maintain an attractive and powerful image
ž -Public opinion surveys on approval of Putin reveals that approval ratings have been constantly greater than 60% for over a decade, with the average of approximately 76%.
- Economic development
ž -Under Putin, Russia has economically grown
ž -Not just the rich getting richer, but the entire population’s standard of living has increased
ž -Even the lower class can afford a proper shelter
Russian Ideology
Nationalism is a central ideology in Russia. There are two types of nationalism within Russia. The first type is a broad sense of nationalism which includes all the peoples and religious groups that inhabited the land (beginning from or throughout the Russian Empire era and/or the USSR era). These specific nationalists are focused with reintegrating the former Soviet territories. The second type is a more specific and exclusive type of nationalism. Only the pure Russians (primarily Slavic) are considered to be the people who belong in Russia, and anyone who isn’t Slavic are considered to be “polluting” Russia.
Autonomy
Russia has a very strong sense of autonomy. The primary source of influence other nations had on Russia were economic sanctions; however, now that China and Russia are economic partners, Russia’s autonomy has grown stronger. Russia is rarely influenced by foreign states.
Helpful Resources:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/geneveith/2014/03/national-bolshevism-russias-new-ideology/
http://www.ut.ee/ABVKeskus/sisu/publikatsioonid/2010/pdf/Ossinovski_MA.pdf
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/29/russian-nationalism-kremlin-actions-ukraine