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Russia: AP Comparative Government & Politics Study Guide
Russia: AP Comparative Government & Politics Study Guide
VOCABULARY
Concepts:
Democratic Centralism – Leninist organizational structure that concentrates power in the hands of the party elite
Glasnost – under Gorbachev, Soviet policies that opened up the political system and allowed for freedom of
expression
Nomenklatura – Soviet system of lists that facilitated the CPSU’s appointment of trusted people to key positions
Oligarch – business and political leaders with what some think is undue influence in Russia
Perestroika – ill-fated program to reform and open up the Soviet economy in the late 1980’s (also under
Gorbachev)
Power Ministries – the most important departments in the Russian government
Privatization – the selling off of state-owned companies
Purges – the systematic removal of people from a party, state, or other office (used by Stalin)
Shock Therapy – policies in formerly communist countries that envisage as rapid a shift to a market economy as
possible
People:
Brezhnev, Leonid – General Secretary of the CPSU, 1964-82; largely responsible for the stagnation of the USSR
Gorbachev, Mikhail – head of the CPSU and last president of the Soviet Union; came up with Glasnost and
Perestroika, wanting democratization in Russian.
Khrushchev, Nikita – successor of Stalin who decided to reform Russia from 1953-1964 where he was ousted due
to the Cuban missile crisis
Lenin, V.I. – the architect of the Bolshevik revolution and the first leader of the Soviet Union
Putin, Vladimir – Russian president since 2000
Stalin, Joseph – ruthless leader of the CPSU and Soviet Union, 1924-53 (killed 20 million-60 million people, used
purges and gulags)
Yeltsin, Boris – former reformist communist leader and president of Russia (1991-2000, first president of Russian
Federation)
Acronyms:
CPRF – Communist Party of the Russian Federation
CPSU – Communist Party of the Soviet Union
KGB – the Soviet Secret Police (Putin was a part of this)
BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT
Executive: PRESIDENT
.The most powerful by far
.Current President is VLADIMIR PUTIN
.Used to be called Secretary General in the former Soviet Union
-Very similar to president
-Gorbachev was the last Secretary General
.The president is ELECTED
-Uses a two-ballot system
-If no one gets more than 50% of the vote, there is a run-off election
.Prime Minister is also included, but is APPOINTED by the president
.Can be in office for two CONSECUTIVE six-year terms
.Powers include: issuing decrees, can dissolve the Duma, and he runs an extremely centralized
administration giving him ultimate authority over nearly everything
SIGNIFICANT PEOPLE
Alexander II – 1880’s
.Attempts to reform/globalize Russia
.Gets assassinated because people didn’t want change
.His son, Alexander III, becomes leader and doesn’t change anything
Lenin – 1921-24
.Marxist and communist (1st communist leader of Russia)
.Uses democratic centralism
.Bolsheviks (his people)
.NEP (New Economic Policy)
-pushed for privatization
Stalin – 1924-53
.“Man of Steel”
.Killed between 20 mil-60 mil of his own people
.GOSPLAN – government agency
-Sets up the first 5-year plans
.Comintern
-Tries to promote communism around the world using money and propaganda
.Purges & Gulags
-When he specifically killed political figures
-Gulags = forced labor camps
Krushchev – 1953-64
.Decided to reform and change Russia
-Wants to get along with other countries
-Russian people thinks this will make them look weak
.Secret Speech
.Cuban Missile Crisis
-Russia moves nukes into Cuba to attack the U.S. quickly
-Pres. Kennedy puts of a naval blockade in from of Cuba and Russia backs down
-Krushchev looks incredibly weak and is kicked out
Brezhnev – 1964-82
.No reforms
.Economy goes down/No real improvement whatsoever
.Established the Politburo
Gorbachev
.Reformer who tried to change Russia but they resist change
.Young leader/updated image
.Glasnost
-Opens up the government/transparency
.Perestroika
-Opens up the economy
-Least successful
.Democratization
.Foreign Policy
-Unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing
-No more nuke testing because it is too much money
Boris Yeltsin
.First president of Russian Federation
SOCIAL
.Population = 145 million people
-6th largest pop.
.Diversity
-Lots of diversity
-Lead to ethnic fighting
-Chechnya = sort of like Biafra, wanted to separate from Russia (Muslim area)
.Life Expectancy
-In 2012, 69-years old
-76 for women, 64 for men
-One of the only places where life expectancy is decreasing
-Only place where AIDS isn’t a factor of decreasing
.Lack of productivity
-People don’t work hard
-No incentives to work hard
.Religion
-#1 religions group is Orthodox Christians (conservative Christians)
.Hardliners
-People who would rather go back to communism/the Soviet Union
-They want POWER AND PRESTIGE so they can be a superpower again
.Lack of Legitimacy
-No trust in the government
-Government isn’t very transparent and censorship is an issue
.Voter Turnout
-Higher percentage than in the U.S.
.Suspicion of Power and Low Expectations
-Low trust of who’s in power
-Low expectations of leaders and the improvement of lives
.Powerless
-People feel like victims
-They feel like they can’t change anything
.NGO’s (Non Governmental Organizations)
-Consist of people who try to do good things in the world
-They have to register w/ the GOVERNMENT (Ironic?)
OTHER
Political Parties
.United Russia
-Putin’s party
-In ’07 election, they won 315 seats in the Duma
.Just Russia
-Follows Putin on mostly every vote
.Yabloko
-chief reform party
-a lot of people who join are intellectuals (people who are academically elite)
.Liberal Democrats
-To the left