Russian Politics and Society / Edition 4

by Richard Sakwa

Overview

Having been fully revised and updated to reflect the considerable changes in Russia over the last decade, the fourth edition of this classic text builds on the strengths of the previous editions to provide a comprehensive and sophisticated analysis on Russian politics and society. New to this edition:

• extended coverage of electoral laws, party development and regional politics
• new chapter on the ‘phoney democracy’ period, 1991-93
• historical evaluation of Yeltsin’s leadership
• full coverage of Putin’s presidency
• discussion of the development of civil society and the problems of democratic consolidation
• latest developments in the Chechnya conflict
• more on foreign policy issues
• the re-introduction of the Russian Constitution as an appendix
• an updated Select Bibliography
• more focus on the challenges facing Russia in the twenty-first century.

Written in an accessible and lively style, this book is packed with detailed information on the central debates and issues in Russia’s difficult transformation. This makes it the best available textbook on the subject and is essential reading for all those concerned with the fate of Russia, and with the future of international society.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415415286
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/08/2008
Edition description:	REV
Pages:	606
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.60(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Richard Sakwa is Professor of Russian and European Politics at the University of Kent, UK.

Table of Contents

	List of figures	ix
	List of tables	x
	Preface to the third edition	xi
	Acknowledgements	xiii
	Note on style, spelling and transliteration	xiv
	Glossary of acronyms, acrostics and terms	xv
Part I	The fall of communism and the rebirth of Russia	1
1	Soviet communism and its dissolution	3
	The Soviet system	4
	Perestroika	8
	The emergence of Russia	16
	Popular insurgency and regime decay	19
	Conclusion	24
2	The disintegration of the USSR	27
	The August coup	27
	The disintegration of the USSR	31
	Problems of state-building	38
	Conclusion	41
Part II	Political institutions and processes	43
3	The new constitutional order	45
	Crisis and culminations: October 1993	45
	The 1993 constitution	54
	The Constitutional Court	66
	Constitutionalism, law and the state	68
	Conclusion	70
4	Law and society	72
	The legal system	72
	Crime and the mafia	79
	Corruption and metacorruption	81
	The security apparatus and politics	91
	Human and civil rights	95
	Conclusion	96
5	The executive	98
	The presidency	98
	The government	109
	Public administration: from nomenklatura to civil service?	122
	Conclusion	123
6	The legislature	125
	The State Duma	125
	The Federation Council (FC)	132
	Parliamentarianism and Russian politics	137
	Conclusion	138
7	Electoral politics	140
	The experience of elections	140
	Elections and the Russian political system	164
	Conclusion	170
8	Party development	172
	Stages of party development	172
	Parties and the multi-party system	184
	Problems of social representation	189
	Conclusion	199
Part III	Federalism, regionalism and nationalism	201
9	Federalism and the state	203
	Ethno-federalism and its legacy	203
	Russian federalism	214
	Conclusion	222
10	Regional and local politics	224
	The organisation of power	224
	Federalism and regional politics	230
	Local self-government	248
	Conclusion	252
11	National identity and state-building	254
	From empire to state	254
	Russian national identity	262
	State-building	267
	Conclusion	274
Part IV	Economy and society	277
12	Marketising the economy	279
	The road to the market	279
	Problems of the Russian economy	291
	Evaluation of market reform	300
	Conclusion	303
13	Society and social movements	305
	Social structure and dynamics	305
	Welfare and incomes	313
	Social movements	318
	Conclusion	329
14	Cultural transformation	331
	The media	331
	Culture and the intelligentsia	335
	Religion and the state	337
	Political culture and public opinion	339
	The crisis of values	344
	Conclusion	346
Part V	Foreign policies	347
15	Foreign policy	349
	The evolution of foreign policy	349
	The structure of policy-making	356
	The debate over foreign policy	360
	Russia and the world	365
	Conclusion	373
16	Commonwealth, community and fragmentation	375
	The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)	375
	Security and peacekeeping	387
	Minorities and Russians abroad	391
	Conclusion	394
17	Defence and security policy	396
	The end of the Soviet armed forces	396
	The great retreat	399
	Defence conversion and arms sales	402
	Nuclear politics and non-proliferation	403
	Military reform	405
	Civil-military relations	409
	Military and security doctrine	413
	Security policy and Nato enlargement	414
	Conclusion	420
Part VI	Dilemmas of democratisation	423
18	Problems of transition	425
	The challenge of history	425
	Transitional justice	430
	Models of transition	432
	Conclusion	443
19	Pluralism, elites, regime and leadership	445
	Russian pluralism	445
	Old and new elites	448
	Regime politics	454
	Leadership and regime change	458
	Conclusion	461
20	Democracy in Russia	463
	Democracy, liberalism and the Russian state	463
	A struggling democracy?	469
	Notes	475
	Select bibliography	524
	Index	527

Editorial Reviews

Sakwa's Russian Politics and Society is THE place to begin to understand how Russia found itself in its current perilous position.

Ronald Grigor Suny

A remarkable achievement - comprehensive in scope and judicious in its interpretation, this is a satisfying portrait of the world's largest state as it enters a new millennium.

Stephen White

Already a standard in the field, this third edition of Richard Sakwa's Russian Politics and Society represents a provocative yet balanced account of the country's political development and degeneration. The coverage is impressively comprehensive, rendering its subject both accessible to lay readers and engaging for the specialist. The book is superbly informed by one of Russia's most astute analysts.

Michael Urban

"Richard Sakwa is one of the most perceptive observers of the Russian scene. He not only presents the facts in a comprehensive and engaging fashion but embeds these in lucidly elaborated theory that enables us to make sense of what he is explaining. This fifth edition is a welcome update of what has become the standard textbook on contemporary Russian politics."

Graeme Gill, University of Sydney, Australia.

"In this new edition of his classic study, Professor Sakwa has once again provided us with the definitive textbook on Russian Politics. This impressive text which covers all the key areas of Russian domestic and foreign policy, has been thoroughly revised and updated, and it now has a stronger focus on the Putin era. It will be essential reading for all teachers and students of Russian Politics."

Cameron Ross, University of Dundee, UK.

"The latest edition of Russian Politics and Society is not simply updated but is notably up-to-date; it sets out the latest information and insights across its broad field. Beyond the provision of facts, its academic analysis takes the reader deeper than the snap-shots prevalent in much discussion of Russia today, as befits an author steeped in decades of studying Russia. Sakwa convincingly argues that today’s Russia remains a country still in a state of post-Soviet transition."

Edwin Bacon, University of Lincoln, UK.

From the Publisher