Contemporary Russian Politics
How many time zones does Russia span?
Spanning eleven different time zones makes it the largest country in the world.
Why does Russia change slowly?
Due to the harsh political and physical environment, a national survival instinct, conservative governments, and conflicting political identity, Russia is slow to change.
Which forces have shaped Russian political culture?
The following forces have shaped Russian political culture: personalistic authority, highly centralized government, collectivism (DeBardeleben, 2007, p. 400).
Who transformed the Russian State into the Russian Tsarist Empire?
Ivan the Terrible and then Peter the Great, transformed the Russian state to the Russian Tsarist Empire, which was recognized as one of Europe’s great empires.
When did the Russian Federation become an ethnically homogeneous state?
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation has become an ethnically homogeneous state.
What 3 effect did the crisis between 1993 Constitutional Crisis between Yeltsin and the Parliaments and the Constitutional Court on the Russian political system and institutions?
One of the most important consequences is a strong presidential system. Second, there is a weak parliament and dispersed political parties. Third, it becomes harder to replace power with an election.
In the executive branch, what does the the president mostly deal with?
In the executive branch, the president mostly deals with foreign policy, security issues, and relations with federal structures, such as republics and regions, and central government. In comparison, the prime minister deals with economic and social issues (DeBardeleben, 2019, p. 578).
What are the most important duties of the Federal Council?
The most important duties of the Federal Council are: ratifying international treaties and, if necessary, impeaching the president.
According to the Russian Constitution, what powers does the State Duma have?
Approving or rejecting the prime minister candidate proposed by the president, deciding on the vote of confidence, appointing or dismissing the Central Bank Governor, appropriating an “impeachment” decision against the president and declaring an amnesty.
What are the three types of parties with and ideological orientation?
Those who have an ideological orientation can be of three main types: democratic, communist, and nationalist.
How is power shared in the federal system?
In the federal system, regional or local administration shares power with the central government. On the other hand, the federal system is a political structure that has its own independent powers and responsibilities. The constitution clearly regulates the distribution of power. While the central government’s sovereignty over the regional or local government is accepted, the authority on specific areas and issues is left to regional or local governments in the Constitution, in which sharing powers and responsibilities are mentioned and specified. The level of sharing authority and responsibilities left to regional or local governments depends on bargaining and power relations between the central and local politicians.
Which republics refused to sign the Federation Treaty, signed in March 1992?
One of them was Chechnya, in which most of the local political elites wanted to establish an independent state. The other one was Tatarstan. Tatar leaders had intense bargaining. In 1994, Tatarstan signed a bilateral treaty with the central government.
What does the power vertical refer to?
The power vertical refers to a unified top-down hierarchical structure of executive power extending from the central government to other regional administrators.
What are the natural resources of Russia?
Russia’s wealth includes oil, natural gas, mineral resources (including gold and diamonds), and extensive forest areas. Oil and natural gas exports are now the primary sources of Russia’s economic wealth and foreign trade.
What 3 economic determinants paly a crucial role in Russia’s first eceonomic crisis?
(1) inability to achieve rapid and radical economic liberalization,
(2) A continuing traditional state paternalism in relations with state-owned enterprises and collective agriculture,
(3) High-level corruption and embezzlement of state-owned enterprises and assets.
Why does relying heavily on export of natural resources make Russia vulnerable?
The export of oil and natural gas covers almost half of the Russian trade revenue. Relying heavily on the export of natural resources makes Russia vulnerable. As clearly seen during the 2008 global economic crisis, a decrease in demand for oil and natural gas negatively impacted the Russian economy.
Why has the Russian economy been ina a slowdown in the 2010s?
First, the global financial crisis in 2008 had an adverse effect on Russian economic relations with other countries. Consumption and prices of natural gas and oil decreased dramatically.
Second, after Russia annexed Crimea and supported separatists groups in Donetsk and Luhansk, the Western governments put economic sanctions on Russia.
Third and the most important, Russia still has unfinished reform on the economic areas.
What are Gorbachev’s reform projects ?
Gorbachev reform projects are: perestroika (restructuring), glasnost (openness), and demokratizatsiya (democratization).
What are the main reasons for the conflict between the Yeltsin administration and the Supreme Soviet?
There are two main reasons for the conflict between the Yeltsin administration and the Supreme Soviet: (1) Dispute on the pace and shape of the economic reforms process.
(2) The second dispute about who should exercise power.
How were Yeltsin’s years transitional?
Yeltsin’s years were transitional because Russia moved from one system to another, from a socialist country to a nationalistic country, a totalitarian regime to sovereign democracy, and planned economy to market economy. The transition to a market economy and a democratic polity, movement towards a renewed national identity was the main content of the 90s.