The Atlantic – Randall Law: Soviet Nationalism Is Still Driving Russian Politics
This post is part of a 12-part series exploring how the U.S.-Russia relationship has shaped the world since the December 1991 end of the Soviet Union. Read the full series here.
Source: The Atlantic, 22st Dec 2011
ASP Adjunct Fellow Randall Law is a featured author.
Don’t let the recent public protests against Russian prime minister and presumptive president Vladimir Putin fool you: authoritarianism remains firmly entrenched in Russia 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and there’s more to it than meets the eye. It’s not communism that lingers, but rather Soviet nationalism, which has formed the basis of a new social contract between the state and its citizens.
Putin’s own term for the new phenomenon is “managed democracy.” Nearly all Russian media outlets are controlled by the Kremlin’s allies, who guide voters to Putin, his ally/underling Dmitri Medvedev, and his party, United Russia. Government candidates and United Russia have never achieved embarrassingly one-sided majorities, but they have comfortably dominated. In the wake of United Russia’s comparatively poor electoral showing this month, Putin and his party might have to depend more on other pro-government groups, but the outcome will likely be the same.
This article is available online .
