Russia A Review Levels of Government Federal System

Russia A Review

Levels of Government • Federal System Eighty-nine subnational governments (most called republics) o Assymetrical federalism • Supranational Influences o WTO, IMF, UN • Extremely centralized o

Executives • President (head of state): Putin o Appoints PM (Duma approves) o Issues decrees that carry weight of law o Dissolve the Duma o Oversees foreign policy, region relations, and state security o Commander in chief of armed forces

Executives • Prime Minister (head of government): Medvedev o Legislation originates with president, PM, his cabinet o Oversees economic issues o During Putin's presidency, president assumed virtually all power; with Putin now as PM, he still assumes most power o His return to President has Seen even harsher restrictions

Executives • Cabinet is composed of various deputy chairs and ministers PM proposes to president who should be in cabinet • Legislation originates with president, PM, and cabinet • Examples of ministries: o Finance o Defense o Federal Security Service o Economic Development and Trade o Natural Resources o Industry, Science, and Technology o

Military • Soviet Union in the Cold War (1945 -1991) o 4 million men o Largest expense for the government o Military generals did not challenge the power of the government

Military • Russian Federation o Military is not a political force o Soldiers go unpaid for months and have to buy their own food o Recently, return to former military prominence after successful operations

Military • Federal Security Service is main domestic security agency o One of the least corrupted state agencies

Bureaucracy • Includes ministries, state committees, and federal agencies • President has large administration reporting directly to him

Bureaucracy • Ministers (except PM) do not require Duma approval o Ministers and agency heads are career bureaucrats, sometimes rising through the ranks o Patron-client networks still play key role in advancement within bureaucracy o Initiation of civil service reform in 2002 • Many agencies advise president on policy o Security Council o State Council

Legislature • Bicameral o Asymmetrical • Lower house: State Duma o 450 seats o Directely elected by the people in the form of districts every 4 years with proportional representation o Has power to propose and debate laws, vote on federal budget, confirm presidential appointments, and make treaties (powers are limited) o Speaker is Boris Gryzlov § Has lower speakers and committee chairs to form leadership o Comprised of committees that handle legislation

Legislature • Upper house: Federal Council of Russia o 178 members o Heads of legislative bodies or executive state bodies §Have appointments

Ferderal Council of Russia • Comprised of committees mainly dealing with foriegn and domestic policymaking • Has the power to delay legislation • Can reject legislation (Duma can override with 2/3 vote)

Institutional Relations • Changing relationship between president and PM as Putin has occupied both roles • Duma has little check on executive power o Can remove PM through two repeat votes and reject PM appointment o Impeachment of president involves Federal Assembly and Courts o President can dissolve Duma

Institutional Relations • Legislature and executive branches can be divided over legislation, approval of PM, etc. • Separation of powers can lead to divided government • Party discipline is weak o Weak party organization o Relatively recent party system formation

Political Parties • Major Parties: o United Russia: the largest party in Russia; "Putin's Party" § Centrist views: order and law, moderate reform o Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF): second largest party § Led by Gennady Zyuganov § Left-wing nationalistic views; want to regain former USSR territories o Liberal Democrats: most controversial party § Led by Vladimir Zhirinovsky § Right-wing populism and social liberalism o Fair Russia: § Led by Sergei Mironov § Democratic socialism

Political Parties • Reformist Parties o Russian United Democratic Party ("Yabloko"): social liberalism o Right Cause: liberal conservatism

Party Systems • One party dominance: o United Russia - 64. 3% of votes in 2007 o Communist Party - 11. 6% of votes in 2007 • As long as Putin is in power United Russia will be in power • Elections are considered competitive but honesty has been called into question

Judiciary • The Soviet Union did not have an independent judiciary • Constitution of 1993 created the Constitutional Court and Supreme Court Constitutional Court has 19 member Appointed by the president and confirmed by the Federation Council o Makes sure all laws and decrees are constitutional o Court takes care not to cross the president o Putin moved the court to St. Petersburg from the center of government in Moscow o o

Judiciary • Supreme Court o Final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases o Does not have the power to challenge the constitutionality of laws and other official actions of legislative and executive bodies (Constitutional Court has this power) • The courts are actively involved in policymaking • Independence from the executive branch is questionable

Rule of Law • The movement toward the rule of law is being blocked by corruption • Corruption is a major problem in Russia; least corrupted agency is the Federal Security Service • Half of all Russians involved in some corruption in daily life (school enrollment, health care, court rulings, car permits, etc. )

Elections • Legislature: State Duma o Have proportional representation §Seats allotted based on percentage of votes candidate recieves § Threshold eligibility to win seats is 7%

Elections • Only registered parties may compete in in elections and cannot form blocs (monoplies) • Parties that are allotted the majority of the seats are United Russia and the Communist Party of Russia • Legislature: Federal Council o One member in each of 89 districts selected by governor of region, other by regional legislature

Elections • President o Directly elected by Russian voters for 6 -year terms (limit of two consecutive terms) • Prime Minister o Prime minister is appointed by president and must be approved by Duma • Referenda o President can call for national referenda by popular vote on key issues

Elections • Honest? o Media support of candidates calls honesty into question o Extremely high margins of victory for Putin in 2000, 2004, and Medvedev 2008 o 2001 law restricted ability of small, regional parties to run presidential candidates

Russian Political Culture • Historical influences: o Absolute, centralized rule (tsar rule, Communism) o Widespread cultural heterogeneity o Westernization vs. slavophilism o 20 th century revolutions

Russian Political Culture • Geographic influences • Eastern Orthodoxy • Belief in equality of result (rather than equality of opportunity) • Skepticism about power (and those who have it) • Importance of nationality

Russian Beliefs and Attitudes • In the past… o Marxism (or Marxism-Leninism): classless society in which all production is publicly-owned o Stalinism: shift toward industrialization and internal development, but totalitarian in practice

Russian Beliefs and Attitudes • Mistrust of the government o Alienation • Statism: STRONG STATE! • Economic reforms: shift toward market economy (gradual vs. abrupt) • Westernization: divisions remain between Slavophiles and westernizers

Statism vs. Civil Society • Russians widely believe in statism, the belief that a strong state should protect them because of certain geographic vulnerabilities o Hindrance to development of civil society and private organizations not associate with the government

Cleavages • The most important cleavage is nationality. Why? o Abundant republics and provinces within Russian Federation o Chechnya greatly resists control by Russian government

Cleavages • Other important cleavages: o Religion (or lack thereof) o Social class: growing trend of egalitarianism after Soviet attempts to remove social class barriers o Rural/urban: economic, cultural, and educational differences

Nationality and Ethnicity • Nationality o 80% are Russians but others include Tatars, Ukrainians, Chuvashes, Armenians, Moldavians, and Bashkis o Stereotyping part of political culture • Ethnicity o Russian— 79. 8% o Tatar— 3. 8% o Ukrainian— 2% o Bashkir— 1. 2% o Chuvash— 1. 1% o Other— 12. 1%

Religion and Gender • Gender • Religion o Gender gap o Russian Orthodox— 15 • Women involvement in -20% politics: o Muslim— 10 -15% o Committee of Soldiers’ o Other Christian— 2% Mothers of Russia o Jewish— 0. 4% o 9. 8% in Duma • Most nonreligious o 3. 4% in Federal • Muslim political activism Council (Chechnya) • No definitive patterns between religion and ideology

Political Socialization • Family is still the greatest agent of socialization • Generational gap o Nostalgia for “good old days” under Communism o Fervor for Western culture and incorporation into global picture

Political Socialization • Nashi, Youth Guard, and Locals o Youth movements created by Putin to support the governement o Foster patriotism and compliance with government o Vehicle for protest

Political Participation • Voting: o High voter turnout • Approximate voter turnout: 1991 1993 1995 19961999 2000 2003 2004 2007 2008 75% 51% 65% 69% 62% 69% 56% 65% 64% 70%

Political Participation

Political Participation

Political Participation

Political Participation • Protest and activism • Youth movements • Political parties • Interest groups • Forums: Civic Forum and Public Chamber

Voting Behaviors • Gender: men more likely to vote than women o Gender gap • Age: over-30 more likely to vote than youth o Youth more likely to support democratic parties • Employment: more likely to vote than unemployed, but less likely to vote than retired • Rural: more likely to vote than those living in cities (except Moscow and St. Petersburg)

Political Violence • Chechnya o Beslan school siege (2004) o Assassination attempt of president of Ingushetia • Unrest in Caucasus (area between Black and Caspian seas) • Suicide bombings and airplane bombs • Nashi and other youth movements

Political Violence • Russian mafia: make deals with government officials and have murdered Duma members

Leadership and Elite Recruitment • Soviet use of nomenklatura system, in which party members selected the most promising recruits from lower levels • Transition to appointing trusted, well-known individuals • Patron-client relationships still vital in presidential administration and other governmental organizations • August 2002: initiation of civil service reform based on merit and professionalism

Media Roles • Past influence by oligarchy o Boris Berezovsky owned newspapers and TV network and effectively ensured Yeltsin’s re-election in 1996

Media Roles • Glasnost: openness • Pravda: former official Soviet newspaper o Post-USSR, enjoys more freedom of the press o Less censored because functions as a tabloid • Privatization of media, but controlled by state o Putin tightened state’s grip on media • State corporatism: Putin determines survival of media groups (and journalists and reporters, too) • Russian mafia also exert influence over publications

Interest Groups • There are not "interest groups" in Russia but there are oligarchs • Oligarchs have a major influence in the policymaking process • Due to Putin's dislike of oligarchs most have withdrawn from political activities • Most of the oligarchs are in debt due to the recent economic downturn, which has weakened their power and caused them to ask for loans from the government • Russian mafia also affects policymaking through bribery, crime, etc. • State corporatism in which state controls which groups affect policy

Public Policy • Policy making and Implementation o Formal and Informal § Federal government, regional legislatures, the president, deputies, and judicial bodies § Bill becomes a law after approval by both houses of parliament in three readings and signing by the president § Presidential/governmental decrees § Lobbying

Public Policy - Economy • Perestroika Reforms - 1991 - attempt to make a more market economy - never fully implemented • "Shock therapy" - results in a small group of entrepreneurs to control economy - ruble falls from $1. 60 to 30, 000 rubles to the dollar • Was improving from 1997 - 2007 until a fall in oil prices in 2008 • Mostly dependent on oil and gas prices • Medvedev's priorities o Infrastructure, innovation, investment, and institutions o Reform tax and bank o Reduce state rule o Diversify

Public Policy - Foreign Policy • Confederation of Independent States - similar to EU - not nearly as powerful • Georgia invasion • Relations with west defined by oil • Strained relatioship with Britian after espionage controversy in 2006 • Relationship with the United States:

Public Policy - Terrorism • In response to terrorist attacks in 2004, Putin strengthened the central government o New security measures o Top officials no longer elected by ppl but selected by pres. and approved by regional legislature • Helped for a bit - more attacks in summer 2009

Public Policy - Population • Drop in population o 1990's - 148 million o 2009 - 141 million o 2050 - 116 million • Low birth rate and poor health habits • 15 deaths per 1000 people a year (world average is 9) • High number of alcohol-related deaths • Life expectancy o Women - 72 o Men - 59 • Repatriation program implemented to attract Russians living abroad to return

Public Policy • Supranational Influences: o IMF o WTO o UN § UN Security Council

Public Policy - Future • Re-centralization of power in Kremlin • Development of civil society, inherently challenged by Russian belief in statism

Political Change • The USSR fell in 1991 after a failed coup d'etat within the Communist Party • Boris Yeltsin became the first president of the Russian Federation

The Rise of Putin • • • Putin is the hand-picked successor to Yeltsin Becomes very popular with economic success Treats criticism of government very harshly Created an illiberal democracy Hand-picked Dmitri Medvedev

Inhibiting Liberal Democracy • Initial failure of the market system • Tradition • Putin's success

Economic Trends • • USSR goes through an economic collapse Market economy struggles Had a collapse in 1998 Ran a budget surplus during later Putin years • Hit hard by the 2008 economic crisis

Economic Inequality • Economic inequality is highest in early 90 s • A mid-ranged gini since 2000 s • Has been stable since the Putin years