Politics in the 90s• 1993 a new constitution approved• New parliament (the “Duma”), half from party
lists, half from single member constituencies• Powers of President strengthened• President appoints Prime Minister, cabinet• “Russia Votes” – analysis of Russian voting
patterns• 1996 Eltsin makes a comeback as President from
certain defeat with the money of Boris Berezovsky• Eltsin dances during campaign• November 1996 – bypass operation
Eltsin’s second term: Politics
1996 reelected on second round against Gennady Ziuganov (Communist)
1996 Alexander Lebed signs peace deal with Chechen leaders
Rotating prime ministers Communists control Duma: block reforms Rich oligarchs control Kremlin (Berezovsky,
Gusinsky, Khodorkovsky, Potanin, Smolensky) Eltsin’s image as a drunken buffoon
Political Parties: The Communist Party (KPRF)
Leader: Gennady Ziuganov (b. 1944)
Share of vote to Duma:
1993 11.6 % 1995 22.3% (34 % of
seats in Duma) 1999 24.3%
Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR)
Right-wing nationalist party
• Leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky (b. 1946)
• Popular intemperate buffoon.
• Took votes away from Communists
• Zhirinovsky in European Parliament
Democratic parties
Yabloko – Led by Grigory Yavlinsky (right)
Democratic Party of Russia
In 1993 get about 10 % of the vote
Moscow… the centre of it all
• Throughout the Eltsin era – Moscow is the centre of Russia, sucking the resources out of the rest of the country.
• Moscow becomes symbol of Russian identity.
• Yury Luzhkov, Mayor of Moscow, masterminds Moscow’s evolution.
• 2010 Medvedev fires Luzhkov for corruption.
Eltsin Period: Economics
Late 1990s – oil prices collapse 1998 the Default: Russia defaults on GKOs
(government bonds) Ruble goes from 6 to the $ to 18, then 30. Huge budget deficits Unpaid salaries and pensions Inflation and financial instability; banks collapse Crippling taxes on small business Flight of capital offshore Vulnerability of economy to falling oil prices
Eltsin Period: Government
Television controlled by oligarchs Berezovsky, Gusinsky
Russia is a chaos of competing chains of organized crime
Federal government disorganized, unreformed
Weak central power & strong regions Compromise with Chechens leads to chaos
in the Caucasus
Who is Putin? Law degree from Leningrad
State University Recruited by KGB (1975-
1991) Worked in GDR (East
Germany) 1985-1990 On return to Russia worked in
administration of Anatoly Sobchak, liberal mayor of St Petersburg
1998 Becomes head of FSB, successor to KGB
Personal characteristics Paradoxical figure: liberal and KGB
backgrounds Stiff, awkward in formal situations Personable likeable one-to-one Perceived by ordinary Russians as their kind of
guy Extremely intelligent and articulate Hardworking and well-briefed Can be ruthless when necessary
The new man...
August 1999 Vladimir Putin appointed prime minister of Russia by Eltsin
September 1999 Putin opens second Chechen war
Organizes new party “Unity” with Boris Berezovsky’s money for December elections
Putin named acting president by Eltsin on December 31, 1999
Getting through the Duma
Putin’s objective: to break the logjam in the Duma (parliament) that had blocked efforts at reform
Gradually over three elections with changes in the electoral law (eliminating single-member districts), United Russia becomes the dominant party
Russia Votes
Putin’s programme: Russian conservatism
Economic reform: appoints first-class economists (Kudrin, Gref, Chubais) to important posts
Balance budget, repay foreign debt, build up stabilization fund while oil and gas prices are high
Tax reform: flat income tax of 13% Private ownership of land Increase wealth of Russia: during his 8 years in
office, average salaries increase 6 times Pensions, public sector salaries paid on time Current endebtedness of Russia
Disasters: The Kursk
12 August 2000 Kursk submarine incident: nuclear sub experiences explosion in torpedo, sinks to the bottom of the sea
Disasters: Hostage-taking in Moscow
23 October 2002 Nordost hostage taking: 850 people at musical taken hostage by about 40 Islamic terrorists
After three days 39 terrorists and 129 hostages killed (mostly by gas pumped into the building by Special forces)
Russian identity: a new nationalism Reverts to the anthem of the USSR with new
patriotic words: Russian national anthem Strengthens the role of the Russian
Orthodox Church. Propaganda in favour of the achievements of
Russia AND the USSR (victory in 1945, sputniks, sport)
Begins to rebuild armed forces
“Vertical of power” Centralization of all power in the
hands of the president in Moscow Unity Party (Edinstvo) develops
into United Russia (Edinaia Rossia)
organization of Russian political life around one party reaching down from the Kremlin to local levels
Local governors’ job: to turn out the vote and support Kremlin’s initiatives
Other tame parties tolerated so long as they do not try to claim more than token power.
Khodorkovsky & Co Takes on the oligarchs –
deeply unpopular with Russians
Warns oligarchs not to meddle in politics
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, head of oil company Yukos arrested in 2003, tried for tax fraud, sent to Siberia
Seizes their assets; Boris Berezovsky, Vladimir Gusinsky driven into exile
The media are the message
Takes over the TV stations formerly owned by oligarchs: Berezovsky, Gusinsky
TV self-censorship: no criticism or ridicule of president or policies
Numerous investigative journalists murdered, including Anna Politkovskaia
Recently introduced English-language world-wide service Russia Today to give Russian point of view
Rewriting the constitution I
Rules for elections continually rewritten to favour United Russia:
minimum 7% vote to get into Duma, single-member districts eliminated: only
party lists allowed Result: independents eliminated, only four
parties currently represented in Duma: UR, CPRF, LDPR, Fair Russia
Rewriting the Constitution II: Governors
Beginning 2004 (after Beslan) governors of regions now appointed by the President, not elected, only approved by regional assemblies (usually dominated by UR)
Inefficient or corrupt governors can be removed by Presidential decree
The burgeoning bureaucracy Putin’s programme requires a hugely
bureaucratic state Corruption blossoms at every level from police
to ministries: no free press to expose abuses, bureaucrats have unlimited power
Transparency International puts Russia at 147 on world perception of corruption index
Bureaucracy stifles free enterprise: small and medium-sized businesses harrassed by local officials
Bureaucracy often hand-in-glove with monopolies to suppress competition
International context: responding to aggressive US policy
NATO/US Expansion into E. Europe 1999 Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary 2004 Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria,
Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia Independence of Kosovo even though U.N.
Security Council resolution 1244 guaranteed the territorial integrity of Serbia
Huge US base in Kosovo (Camp Bonisteel)
The “Coloured Revolutions”
September 2000 – “Otpor!” Yugoslavia Milošević ousted
November 2003 – Georgia “Rose Revolution”: Saakashvili replaces Shevardnadze
November 2004 – Ukraine “Orange Revolution” “Pora!” Viktor Yanukovich defeated by Viktor Yushchenko
March 2005 – Kyrgyzstan “Tulip Revolution”: President Akayev replaced by Bakiyev
The Rebirth of “Peter”: Rebuilding Peter’s city
When working in Sobchak’s administration, Putin had a picture of Peter the Great over his desk
St Petersburg tercentenary in 2003: Russia hosts the G8
St Petersburg designated as cultural centre
The Mariinka Known in Soviet times
as the “Kirov” after a murdered party boss
Resumes its old name World-class centre of
music, ballet and opera
Director Valery Gergiev
Revolutionary new styles and repertoire
Aleksandr Sokurov:The Russian Ark (2002)
Revolutionary film taken in one shot in the Hermitage on the shortest day of the year
Steadycam glides through the halls of the Museum
Panorama of Russian history