Political Science: Russian Politics

Examines the nature of politics and the development of post-Soviet social and economic institutions in Russia. Prerequisite: POLS 1700 or POLS 1017.

Prerequisite enforced by the system: POLS 1700 or POLS 1017. Minimum Sophomore standing. PACE students with permission and override.

This course analyzes political, economic, and social change in post-Soviet Russia within a historical context. Because we cannot comprehend decisions made by Yeltsin or Putin without understanding the historical legacies they inherited when they took office, the first part of the course (three intense weeks) will focus on political, economic, and social development in the Soviet Union from 1917 to 1991. We will focus on the Stalin era, particularly the Great Terror and its lasting consequences for future Soviet and post-Soviet leaders. This part of the course will conclude with an examination of Gorbachev’s reform efforts (glasnost, perestroika), which ultimately led to the collapse of the Soviet system – and an entire country. The second part of the course will be an in-depth study of the Yeltsin presidency (1993-1999) and the first Putin Presidency (2000-2008). Here we will examine the establishment of a semi-democratic political system under Yeltsin's leadership, and Putin's reaction to the chaos of the 1990s, which include economic nationalization and political authoritarianism. This part of the course will conclude with a brief look at ‘the Tandem’ – the four-year period (2008-2012) during which Medvedev was the President of Russia and Putin was the Prime Minister of Russia. With a firm foundational understanding of Soviet and post-Soviet politics prior to Putin’s return to office in 2012, we will in the third part of the course turn our attention to special topics that span time. Here we will explore Moscow’s war with Chechnya, state-society relations, the politics of gender and sexuality, church-state relations, WWII and re-Stalinization, biopolitics, COVID 19, the war in Ukraine, and post-2012 political legitimization methods.

Learning Objectives 1) Provide students with an understanding of contemporary Russia’s complex political system. 2) Provide students with an understanding of political transitions to and from democracy. 3) Provide students with a context within which they can reflect on the role and limits of citizens in social transformation within newly democratic and authoritarian political systems.

A variety of assessments to be determined.