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Collapse communism in east europe
Electoral system essay 150-250 words
Electoral system essay 150-250 words
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Reforms and ethnic problems helped the Soviet Union collapse in 1991. What was the next move to help Russia be a major power in the world? Boris Yeltsin led Russia through most of the decade promoting something known as democracy and better living conditions than the Soviet Union. There were some failures along with success, however once Yeltsin was too old for the job he found a successor. Hence, Yeltsin passed the presidency on to Putin; the promotion of democracy was severely limited by an authoritarian leader wanting more power.
Corruption during the 1990’s increased and expanded with the developments of the Russian Mafia. “Many Russians believed that the unbridled pursuit of individual interests during the 1990s gave rise to lawlessness, corruption, and other centrifugal forces that weakened the state (Richter 40).” An extreme amount of hyperinflation and the ruble nearly crashed overnight in the later half of the decade due to the lawlessness of investments. Boris Yeltsin had many problems especially with the development of a constitution. “About one-quarter of Russians felt satisfaction in 1996 with the course of democratization, or nearly as many as were dissatisfied (Colton and McFaul 17).” Even though a large percentage of the people were dissatisfied with the government they did not want the communist party back.
The confirmation of authoritarian rule came with Putin's eight-year term in office. The State was based on the masses' longing for "order" and a return to traditionalism. Throughout this period, Putin's regime kept a relentless attack on the pro-democracy aspirations of Yeltsin's supporters. They were determined to discredit them any way possible. “When Boris Yeltsin was elected to a second term in 1996, ...
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...rom the government. Putin is just becoming extremely greedy, and if the Russian people do not rise up against him he will eventually fall back toward communism. Finally, Russia has the ability to explore life's full potential and become prosperous; this change in the way things are done is needed. The era of communism was a distorted socialist attempt to prevent democratic development and keep people under control.
Works Cited
Colton, Timothy J and Michael McFaul. "Putin and Democratization." Herspring, Dale R. Putin's Russia Past Imperfect, Future Uncertain. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, INC., 2001. 13-38.
McFaul, Michael and Kathryn Stoner-Weiss. "Th Myth of the Authoritarian Model." Foreign Affairs (2008): 68-84.
Richter, James. "Putin and the Public Chamber." Richter, James. Post-Soviet Affairs. Bellwether Publishing, Ltd., 2009. 39-65.
...oved to be singularly influential and daunting. This is, perhaps, the greatest obstacles to achieving true democracy in Russia—the authoritarian and repressive traditions that refuse to die out with the passage of time.
and Altemeyer’s approaches to authoritarianism share many similarities, such as the more descriptive approach to their work than explanatory route, where neither clearly identify the source of authoritarianism. (Jones, 2002. Cited in The Open University, 2015, p50)
Soyinka, Wole. “Every Dictator’s Nightmare.” The Arlington Reader: Contexts and Connections. 2nd ed. Ed. Lynn Z. Bloom and Louise Z. Smith. Boston: Bedford, 2008. 475-80. Print.
The cold war was failed by the Soviet Union for many reasons, including the sudden collapse of communism (Baylis & Smith, 2001.) This sudden collapse of communism was brought on ultimately by internal factors. The soviet unions president Gorbachev’s reforms: glasnost (openness) and perestroika (political reconstructering) ultimately caused the collapse of the Soviet Empire. Gorbachev’s basics for glasnost were the promotion of principles of freedom to criticize; the loosening of controls on media and publishing; and the freedom of worship. His essentials of perestroika were, a new legislature; creation of an executive presidency; ending of the ‘leading role’ of the communist party; allowing state enterprises to sell part of their product on the open market; lastly, allowing foreign companies to own Soviet enterprises (Baylis & Smith, 2001.) Gorbachev believed his reforms would benefit his country, but the Soviet Union was ultimately held together by the soviet tradition he was trying to change. The Soviet Union was none the less held together by “…powerful central institutions, pressure for ideological conformity, and the threat of force.
In 1513, an Italian politician by the name of Niccolo Machiavelli distributed, though privately, a political treatise called The Prince. This treatise was, essentially, a guide on how to effectively rule one's country. It's important beforehand to define exactly what a Machiavellian is, before describing one. A Machiavellian is a leader who, through his power and influence, works toward the common good of his people. This can be done through fear, through deceit, even through manipulation. It is important to understand the main principle of a Machiavellian; the end justifies the means. The end being the common good of his people. Vladimir Putin is a Machiavellian in the ways he retains power, institutes reform, and executes economic recovery domestically; and also in the ways he manages international affairs, such as the issues with Syria, Snowden, and the 2014 Winter Olympics.
In order to understand organized crime in Russia today and its affect on the Russian economy, one must examine its roots in the Soviet Union. Although many acknowledge the existence of crime syndicates in the USSR, few are aware of their extent during the 70’s, 80’s, and early 90’s. As early as the 1970’s, the Russian mafia had advanced to the status of primary protectors and beneficiaries in the robust Soviet shadow economy (Anderson, 1995, 341...
Russia, a vast country with a wealth of natural resources, a well, educated population, and diverse industrial base, continues to experience, formidable difficulties in moving from its old centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. President Yeltsin's government has made substantial strides in converting to a market economy since launching its economic reform program in January 1992 by freeing nearly all prices, slashing defense spending, eliminating the old centralized distribution system, completing an ambitious voucher privatization program, establishing private financial institutions, and decentralizing trade. Russia, however, has made little progress in a number of key areas that are needed to provide a solid foundation for the transition to a market economy.
The famous political philosopher C. Wright Mills believed that in the United States the main power was concentrated in the hands of certain powerful people. Mills called these people “the power elite”. For him, “the power elite” were those who occupied “the dominant positions in the dominant institutions”. The model can be applicable to the Russian political system. Even though Russia is officially called a democratic country, it is necessary to look behind the rhetoric. There is a certain number of people in Russia whose power is much greater in comparison with the power of general masses. These people control a whole economic process, mass media, educational institutions and even election processes. In this essay, the relevance of Mills’
"From Autocracy to Oligarchy." The Structure of Soviet History: Essays and Documents. Ed. Ronald Grigor. Suny. New York: Oxford UP, 2003. 340-50. Print.
Russia's political institutions remain comparatively weak and political power is highly centralized, particularly at the presidential level, which maintains a dominant presence. Continued government interventions, regulations and an inefficient and corrupt legal system weigh on the cost and pace of doing business in Russia. These factors seriously hinder investment, both foreign and domestic. The corruption is very high and considered one of the most important political factors in Russia, as more than half of the population feels that corruption has increased and that the efforts of the government to reduce its levels are inefficient. (See App.11) The Corruption Perceptions Index placed the country in the lower section of the list (133 of 176 countries) showing the high corruption and bureaucracy in the country. Corruption and deficiencies in the rule of law limit Russia’s FDI potential. The Human development Index of
The Soviet Union, which was once a world superpower in the 19th century, saw itself in chaos going into the 20th century. These chaoses were marked by the new ideas brought in by the new leaders who had eventually emerged into power. Almost every aspect of the Soviet Union crumbled during this period, both politically and socially, as well as the economy. There were underlying reasons for the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union and eventually Eastern Europe. The economy is the most significant aspect of every government.
The Russo-Chechen war that ended in 1996 should have given the Russian government a feel of things to come when they decided to attack in late September of last year. Triggered by security challenges to the State, Russia decided that the democracy would be in danger if they didn’t act. Russia was in a politically unstable situation right now with the resignation of Yeltsin, and the current Presidential elections looming. Also looming on the political horizon was the concern over rampant corruption in the government. If they had done nothing Yeltsin’s party would have stood to lose, yet Putin, (Yeltsin’s successor) succeeded in focusing the medias attention on the war rather that the domestic corruption.
Ronald Grigor Suny addresses these concerns when discussing the shock therapy transition of Russia. Suny postulates that the economic hardships that accompanied the transition undermined public support. Due to the lack of support, Yeltsin had to make concessions, which then undermined the transition itself. As Sachs and Hale said, the transition had to be done in full, without half measures. Furthermore, the Central government of Russia had been breaking down ever since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The country had broken down into many loosely formed feudalistic icebergs, as Katherine Verdery defines it. Mob lords and other similar practices of corruption ruled the suzerainties. Because of this complicated dichotomy, there was never a unified front of cooperation that existed to advance the shock therapy
Navalny, Alexey A. 2014. How to Punish Putin. NY : The New York Times, 2014.
Kort, Michael. "Reform, Reaction, and Revolution in Russia." Facts on File. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.