Politics in Russia

Difficult transition from communism

Largest country in the world

Russian population

• 142,893,540 (July 2006 estimate)– comparison

• larger than that of Japan (127 million)• smaller than that of US (296 million)

• 82% Russian– largest minority: Tatars 4%

• 72% Orthodox– largest minority: Muslim 6%

Legacies of the tsarist era

• A millennium of autocratic rule– hereditary monarchy– not constrained by a constitution

Legacies of the tsarist era

• need of governing a vast territory– modernization of military & economic potential– growth of state power– mobilization and unity to defend country– national feeling based on pride

• in the greatness of the country• in the strength of its people

Russian Revolution of 1917

• Tsarist regime fell during World War I

• Bolshevik revolution in October 1917

• Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870 - 1924)

• Communist Party of the Soviet Union– controlled all levels of govt.– nomenklatura

• party state

Soviet Union (USSR)

• Joseph Stalin– totalitarian regime– centralized political power– industrial and military might

• staggering human cost– collectivization– purges– World War II

Stalin’s legacies

• rule of personalities (versus rule of law)• succession crisis (versus regular elections)• reliance on military and police• bureaucratic distortions, resistance, and

inertia• de-stalinization (1950s & 1960s)

– collective leadership– deteriorating economic conditions

Gorbachev

• General Secretary of CPSU (85-91)– glasnost: openness in political relations– improve economic well-being– contested elections– law-governed state– private enterprises– informal social associations– concessions to US– revolutions in East Europe in 1989

Collapse of the Soviet Union

• Unintended consequence of Gorbachev’s reforms– communist party rule broke down in the 15

soviet republics

• ascendance of Boris Yeltsin in elections– elected Russian president in 1991 (57% vote)– outlawed the Communist Party of Soviet Uni.

• Gorbachev resigned as president

Yeltsin as president (1991-1999)

• Yeltsin demanded extraordinary powers from parliament to cope with the country’s economic problems– power to carry out a program of radical

market-oriented reform by presidential decree– named himself acting prime minister– young, Western-oriented government leaders– determined to carry out decisive

transformation

Reformers versus opponents

• Economic reforms took effect in 1992– prices skyrocketed (inflation rate 2323%)

• political opposition to reform policies

• developments in 1993– Yeltsin dissolved parliament– bombed the parliament– parliamentary election– constitutional referendum

The Yeltsin Constitution of 1993

• Yeltsin called a “presidential republic”

• President– is directly elected by

voters– can dissolve

parliament– can issue decrees

presidential power

• head of state

• “guarantor of the constitution”

• appoint government

• choice of prime minister is subject to the approval of parliament

• after three refusals to confirm president’s choice, president dissolves State Duma

The Parliament

• Federal Assembly

• lower house– State Duma

• upper house– Federation Council

The Parliament

• submission of draft legislation to State Duma– by government– by president– or by members of the Federal Assembly

• individually or collectively

Federation Council

• Every constituent unit of the federation is represented by 2 representatives

• populations of small ethnic-national territories are greatly over-represented

• after Putin’s reform in 2000, each governor and each regional legislature is to name a representative to the Federation Council

• after 1996, all governors are elected

Legislative process

• State Duma => Federation Council => President

• if Federation Council rejects a bill– State Duma may override (by 2/3 vote), or– bicameral conciliation commission

• if president rejects a bill– State Duma may override (by 2/3 vote), or– bicameral conciliation commission

Limit on presidential power

• President can not dissolve parliament– within one year of parliamentary election– if the parliament has filed impeachment

against president– if president has declared state of emergency– within 6 months of expiration of president’s

term

Limit on presidential power

• Impeachment of president– 2/3 majority in State Duma– affirmation by the Supreme Court– rule by the Constitutional Court– 2/3 majority in Federation Council

Constitutional Court

• judicial review by the Constitutional Court

• 19 members are– nominated by the president– confirmed by the Federation

Council

Constitutional Court

• empowered to consider the constitutionality of actions of– the president– the parliament– lower level government

• ruled on relations– between the 2 chambers– between central and local governments

Russia’s GDP growth rate (%)

-16

-14

-12

-10

-8

-6

-4

-2

0

2

4

6

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2002

Decline and recovery (GDP)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2002