• A
  • A
  • A
  • ABC
  • ABC
  • ABC
  • А
  • А
  • А
  • А
  • А
Regular version of the site

Russian Politics

2021/2022
Academic Year
ENG
Instruction in English
6
ECTS credits
Course type:
Elective course
When:
1 year, 1, 2 module

Instructor


Shkel, Stanislav

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The course is aimed at studying the main aspects of the political development of Russia in the post-Soviet period. A wide range of topics of contemporary Russian politics are considered, the main of which are: institutional choice and state building, regime evolution, issues of federalism and regional politics, the party system, the economic foundations of Russian politics, social movements in contemporary Russia. These topics are studied in comparison with other countries of Eurasia in order to understand the general and special in the political development of Russia.
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • The main goal of the course is to analyze the logic of Russia's political development in a comparative perspective.
Expected Learning Outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes

  • student demonstrates a good knowledge about contemporary political processes in Russia
  • student is able to apply in practice case-study methods for studying Russia, as well as comparative analysis of Russia with other states
  • student is capable to apply theories and concepts to analyze political processes in Russia and other countries of Eurasia
  • student understands general and special in political process of Russia in comparison with other countries of the post-Soviet space
Course Contents

Course Contents

  • Introduction. The main theoretical approaches to the analysis of political processes in Russia.
  • The role of the Soviet legacy in contemporary Russian politics. Perestroika and the reasons for the collapse of the USSR.
  • The first republic (1991-1993): the political process in the context of market reforms.
  • The political crisis of 1993 and the logic of institutional choice in Russia.
  • The second republic (1993-1999): Pluralism by default.
  • Federalism and political machines in the regions of Russia.
  • Recentralization of the Russian state (2000-2007): from electoral 4democracy to electoral authoritarianism.
  • The problem of the transfer of power in Russia and other countries of Eurasia: Russia under D. Medvedev (2008-2012).
  • Electoral revolutions in the post-Soviet space and mass mobilization in Russia in 2011-2012.
  • Politics in hard times: factors of stability of the Russian regime in a crisis.
  • Electoral processes in modern Russia.
  • National policy in Russia at the present stage.
  • Russian regions and local politics in the context of centralization.
Assessment Elements

Assessment Elements

  • non-blocking Class attendance, preparation and participation
  • non-blocking Final oral examination
  • non-blocking Individual research project essay in English (final project)
    The final work for the course is an essay of about 3000 words in English related to any aspect of the broad theme of the course. It can be an overview of the existing articles on the topic, or an original piece of research. In the latter case, the essay is supposed to include a theoretical section, literature review, hypotheses derived from the theory, some methodological discussion, a model built on one of the cross-country datasets, and a results section. The most important aspects to be graded are the creativity of the research idea, the operationalization, and refinement of hypotheses, proper modeling, and clear understanding of the limits of research. - Late assignments will be graded down. - Plagiarism will result in failure. Papers submitted for other classes cannot be reused. Requirements for essay The final work for the course is an essay of about 3000 words in English related to any aspect of the broad theme of the course. It can be an overview of the existing articles on the topic, or an original piece of research. In the latter case, the essay is supposed to include a theoretical section, literature review, hypotheses derived from the theory, some methodological discussion, a model built on one of the cross-country datasets, and a results section. The most important aspects to be graded are the creativity of the research idea, the operationalization, and refinement of hypotheses, proper modeling, and clear understanding of the limits of research. Format MS Word or LaTeX, 10-12 pages long (3000 words), typed, double-spaced, standard margins, page count does not include abstract, references, and appendices, as well as figures and tables. Purpose This text is intended to be an extended proposal for an article that can be published in a peer reviewed journal after some revisions. This paper should demonstrate your 1) logical reasoning, 2) ability to critically operationalize theoretical concepts related to inequality 3) your skill at interpreting the results of statistical analysis (if necessary), and 4) your ability to communicate in academic writing style. Content This paper, like all academic research papers, must contain the following sections: 1. Abstract 2. Introduction 3. Literature review 4. Data and Methods (if necessary) 5. Findings 6. Discussion/conclusion 7. References. 8. Appendix (-ces) (If necessary) ABSTRACT: A one-paragraph summary of the research question and (only) main findings (on a separate page, not counted in the page count). INTRODUCTION: In this section you formulate the research question and establish its scientific relevance (i.e. explain “why it is important to study this topic”, may also include social or policy relevance). LITERATURE REVIEW: This section examines your research question in terms of the theory that generated it, and reviews existing sociological research addressing the question, including research that may be only partially related. If your specific topic appears to be understudied, this section should address what is available on related topics. The literature review generally includes a mention of how the current research replicates previous research, contradicts previous research, or somehow modifies or extends previous research. At the end of this section, you must clearly state the hypothesis or hypotheses to be tested in subsequent empirical analysis. It should be obvious how the hypotheses are related to the theoretical background outlined in the literature review. For the length of this paper, your literature review must make reference to at least five (5) recent academic peer-reviewed journal articles on your topic. DATA & METHODS: This section briefly describes the dataset and analytical methods that you use. This section should (a) explain how the research question is operationalized into testable hypotheses; (b) clearly state the concepts to be tested in the hypotheses, as well as label the independent variables, the depen
  • non-blocking Group presentation
    Group presentations will be held for about 20 minutes each week. Each student will present at least once (as a member of a small group). Presenters are supposed to have required and supplementary readings for the week covered. Through the discussion and presentation, presenters should demonstrate understanding of all required texts, to include some that are not assigned, and students are supposed to lead the discussion that integrates these into a wider theme. Presenters must use visual presentation as an aid for the others.
Interim Assessment

Interim Assessment

  • 2021/2022 2nd module
    0.25 * Group presentation + 0.25 * Final oral examination + 0.25 * Class attendance, preparation and participation + 0.25 * Individual research project essay in English (final project)
Bibliography

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

  • Gelʹman, V. J. V. (DE-588)121498867, (DE-576)181761440, aut. (2015). Authoritarian Russia : analyzing post-Soviet regime changes / Vladimir Gel’man.
  • Gill, G. J., & Young, J. (2012). Routledge Handbook of Russian Politics and Society. London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=441639

Recommended Additional Bibliography

  • Michael McFaul. (2001). Russia’s Unfinished Revolution : Political Change From Gorbachev to Putin. Cornell University Press.
  • White, S. (2011). Understanding Russian Politics. Cambridge eText.

Authors

  • SHKEL STANISLAV NIKOLAEVICH