Week 4: Overview

Week Four: Overview

Politics in Russia

Welcome to Week Four of POLI 11!

This week we will focus on our second case study: The Russian Federation (or simply: Russia).  We will examine its history from the Revolution of 1917, through the rise and fall of the Soviet Union and communism, and the later presidencies of Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin.

Readings:       Powell, chap. 11 (Remington).

Ostrovsky, pp. 1-119, 141-64, 174-204, 263-80, and 304-31.

Study Questions:

  1. Is Lenin’s legacy still with us?
  2. Why was Russian privatization so difficult?
  3. How has Putin been able to win so many elections?
  4. How much of a civil society does Russia have?

Class Schedule:

August 25:      Soviet Communism and Its Demise (Powell, pp. 298-304; Ostrovsky, pp. 1-119)

August 27:      Yeltsin to Putin: A New Russia? (Powell, pp. 304-39; Ostrovsky, pp.141-64, 174-204, 263-80, and 304-31)