1. Russia: Impact of the Past

2. Historical Influences on Political Traditions
Several legacies from Russian history shape modern political system
Absolute, centralized rule: tsars held absolute power & defended it w/ brutality & force
Tyranny based on geography – was overrun & conquered by series of invaders: Huns, Vikings, Mongols
Chaos b/c of takeovers convinced leaders of importance of firm, unchallenged leadership to keep subjects under control
Centralized power also characteristic of Communist regime in 20th century

3. Extensive cultural heterogeneity:
until 17th century, small, centralized culture, but numerous invasions = cultural diversity
Cultural heterogeneity intensified as Russia expanded its borders (by end 19th century, borders extended from Baltic Sea to Pacific Ocean)
Borders have been in almost constant state of change, so ethnicities split, thrown together, & split again
Name “Russian Federation” reflects the diversity w/ countless “republics” and “autonomous regions” based on ethnicity
But borders impossible to draw b/c of blend & locations of people

4. Slavophile v. westernizer
Slavophile (lover of Slavs) tradition has led to pride in Slavic customs, language, religion, history that causes Russia to resist outside influence
Valuing isolation challenged first by Tsar Peter the Great in late 17th / early 18th centuries
used Western model to “modernize” Russia w/ stronger army, a navy, infrastructure of roads and communication, reorganized bureaucracy, and “Window on the West” (St. Petersburg)
Peter’s efforts followed by Catherine the Great of late 18th century so by time of her death – Russia seen as great empire
But their changes set off conflict b/c affection for Slavic ways did not disappear w/ changes…

5. Revolutions of the 20th Century:
Vladimir Lenin & Bolsheviks seized power, renamed Russia the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
Communist leaders replaced tsar & ruled according to socialist principles
Tendency toward absolute, centralized rule did not change
Old social classes swept away, new regime tried to blend elements of westernization (industrialization, economic development, and technological innovation) w/ the slavophile (nationalism, resistance to Western culture & customs)
2nd revolution occurred 1991, when USSR dissolved & its 15 republics became independent nations
Russian Federation is born!

6. Geographic Setting Geographically, Russia largest country in world
Encompasses many different ethnicities & climates
One of coldest countries on earth
Borders on Black Sea in Southwest, Baltic Sea in Northwest, Pacific to the East, Arctic Ocean to North, China to south
Borders touch on many other nations w/ different political cultures & customs
Few warm water ports; history shaped by desire to conquer countries that block access to the sea
Many natural resources: oil, gas, timber, but much is locked in Siberia

7. Eastern Orthodoxy
Early on, Russians followed Constantinople, establishing trade routes in that direction & adopting Eastern Orthodox religion
As Constantinople’s influence waned, influence of Western Europe increased but Russia’s orientation meant didn’t share values generated by Renaissance, Reformation, Scientific Revolution, & Enlightenment
Instead of individualism, Russians valued a strong state that could protect them from geographic vulnerabilities (statism)
In contrast, the West developed civil society (spheres of privacy free from control by the state
Eastern Orthodoxy also linked to state, so principle of separation of church and state never developed

8. Political and Economic Change
In contrast to Britain: history reflects resistance to change by reforms until descend into chaos or resort to revolution
Most successful tsars (Peter, Catherine) understood dangers of chaos, used force to keep their power
19th century tsars faced threats from Enlightenment, democracy, industrialization
Those that tried to include some of those themes, often failed
Transitions sparked by revolution & quick, dramatic change
Slavic influence brought some continuity to Russia’s history, but in general change rarely evolutionary/gradual
Long periods of authoritarian rule punctuated by protest & violence

9. Russia’s history characterized by 3 distinct time periods:
Long period of autocratic rule by tsars: from 14th to 20th centuries
Control of Russia passed down through Romanov family from 17th century on, but transitions often accompanied by brutality
20th Century rule by Communist Party: 1917, with Lenin & Bolsheviks seizure of power, Nicholas II deposed
Ended in 1991 when failed coup from w/in = chaos
Abrupt regime change to democracy and free market in 1991: Pres. Boris Yeltsin uses Western-style reforms to create Russian Federation

10. Tsarist Rule
First tsars princes of Moscow, cooperating w/ 13th century Mongol rulers
When Mongol rule weakened, princes declared themselves “tsars” in tradition of Roman “Caesars”
Tsars were autocratic, tightly controlled their lands in order to protect them from other invasions

11. Tsars also headed Russian Orthodox Church, so seen as both political & religious leaders
Early Russia isolated from Western Europe by orientation to Eastern Orthodox world
long distances separated Russian cities from major civilizations to south / east

12. Western Influence
Tsar Peter the Great introduced western technology & culture to increase Russia’s power & influence
Was first tsar to travel to Germany, Holland, England, where learned about shipbuilding & other technology
Brought engineers, carpenters, architects to Russia to set it on path toward world power
Catherine the Great, originally from Germany, managed to gain warm water access to Black Sea
Read widely, familiar w/ Enlightenment, but checked impulse to include in her rule
Became enlightened despot, one who ruled absolutely, but w/ good of country in mind
Both Peter & Catherine looked to West to help develop their country, but neither abandoned absolute rule
After Peter & Catherine, tsars alternated between Slavic roots & tolerating western style reforms

13. Nineteenth Century Tsars
Direct contact w/ West when Napoleon invaded 1812
Alexander I resisted the attack, but at great cost to empire
Western thought influenced Russian intellectuals who saw no room for western political institutions to grow under absolutism
Frustration erupted in Decembrist Revolt of 1825, crushed by Nicholas I
By mid-century, losing Crimean War convinced many of tsar’s critics that Russian ways were backward & in need of major reform
19th century tsars reacted by sending secret police to investigate & exile or execute dissenters
Only 19th century tsar to sponsor reform: Alexander II
But though he freed Russia’s serfs & set up regional zemstvas (assemblies), the intelligentsia didn’t think he went far enough
Was assassinated 1881, son Alexander III took throne, reacted by undoing many reforms & intensifying secret police

14. The Revolution of 1917, Lenin, and Stalin
Most immediate cause of Revolution of 1917 was Russia’s ineffectiveness in fighting Russo-Japanese War and WWI
Tsar Nicholas II in wrong place at wrong time, but also weak ruler w/ no control over the armies
First signs of revolution: 1905, w/ riots in protest to Russia’s loss to Japan
WWI: Russian soldiers fighting w/o guns, shoes
Mass defections from war sent state into chaos

15. Lenin and the Bolsheviks
By 1890s, some revolutionists were Marxists in exile
According to Marxism, socialist revolutions first take place in capitalist countries, not Russia
Russia still primarily an agricultural society at turn of 20th century
1905, Vladimir Lenin in What is to be Done changed meaning of Marxism when argued for democratic centralism w/ leadership group to lead the revolution in name of the people
Believed the situation in Russia was so bad that revolution could occur even though it was non-industrialized
Followers known as Bolsheviks

16. By 1918, civil war between White Army (Russian military leaders, funded by Allied Powers) & Red Army (led by Lenin)
Reds win!
1920 – Lenin institutes New Economic Policy allowing private ownership to exist under centralized leadership
Managed to bring relative prosperity to farmers, but not industrialization
Whether Lenin would have moved to a more socialist approach unknown, b/c died 1924
Power struggle followed his death, “Man of Steel” will win control

17. Stalinism
Vastly changed Lenin’s democratic centralism (Marxism-Leninism)
Placed the Communist Party at center of control, w/ no other political parties allowed to compete
Party members carefully selected w/ only 7% of population actually joining Party
Ran local, regional, national gov’ts
Party leaders identified through nomenklatura (process of party members selecting promising recruits from lower levels)

18. Joseph Stalin was general secretary from 1927 – death in 1953
Top gov’t officials belonged to Central Committee, group of 300 party leaders that met twice a year
Above Central Committee was Politburo, the heart & soul of Communist Party
Group of about 12 men that ran the country
Decisions carried out by gov’t agencies
Head of Politburo was General Secretary, who assumed full power as dictator
Joseph Stalin was general secretary from 1927 – death in 1953
Stalinism: two-step process of collectivization (farms) and industrialization (heavy industry), carried out by central planning, and executed w/ force & brutality

19. Collectivization and Industrialization
Stalin replaced NEP w/ collective farms that were state run & supposedly more efficient
Private landownership eliminated & farms intended to feed workers in the cities
Some peasants resisted, esp. those that owned larger farms – known as kulaks – forced to move to cities or labor camps, untold numbers died at hands of gov’t officials
w/ agricultural surplus from farms, Stalin could introduce first Five Year Plan, setting ambitious goals for production of heavy industry (oil, steel, electricity)
Other plans followed, all carried out by Gosplan the Central State Planning Commission
Gosplan became nerve center for the economy, determined production & distribution of virtually all goods in USSR

20. Stalin’s Foreign Policy
Intended to support internal development
Advocated “socialism in one country” to emphasize split w/ traditional Marxism, trying to ignore fascist threat from Germany & Italy
Signed non-aggression pact w/ Germany in 1939, but was attacked by Germany following year
As result, Russia joined w/ Allies for rest of WWII, but tensions often apparent at conferences & as soon as war ended, situation escalated into Cold War
Everything focused on main goal: industrial development of the USSR

21. The Purges
Execution of millions of its citizens, including 1M party members!
Obsessed w/ disloyalty in party ranks
Stalin held total power; by time of death, many suspected had gone mad
Stalin’s successor, Nikita Khrushchev, set about to reform Stalinism by loosening totalitarian nature, denouncing the purges

22. 988 C.E. – Russian Tsar Vladimir I converted to Orthodox Christianity, setting Russia on a different course of development from Western Europe
1613 – Romanov family came to power & ruled until 1917
– Peter the Great ruled Russia, bringing the dynamic of “slavophile vs. westernizer” to Russian political development
– Catherine the Great, 2nd great westernizer, solidified & expanded Peter’s reforms, though she still ruled w/ an iron hand, as all tsars did

23. 1917 – the last tsar was deposed, & Bolshevik Revolution put Vladimir Lenin in control of U.S.S.R.
– Russian civil war raged as many factions inside & outside Russia fought to oust Lenin from power; Lenin solidified power (1921)
– Stalin ruled U.S.S.R., reinterpreting the meaning of communism & instituting his programs of collectivization & industrialization
1991 – coup against General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev failed, but also instigated process that led to collapse of Soviet Union
1993 – new Russian Constitution put in place the current regime