Introducing%20the%20Russian%20Case

1
Introducing the Russian Case

• What are the outcomes to be explained?
• Old Russia
• defeated in multiple wars
• Soviet Union
• victorious in WW II (Allies)
• superpower during Cold War
• political collapse during reform process
• New Russia (Russian Federation)
• Market and democratic reforms under Yeltsin
• partly free (Freedom House)
• economically struggling
• Rolling back of market and democratic reforms
  under Putin
• Putinformer KGB officerelected president in
  2000
• Now not free (Freedom House)
• economically struggling 2004 GDP lt 1989 GDP

2
Socio-economic Development (2004 data)
Country GDP per capita (ppp, US) HDI Rank
United States 39,676 8
Britain 30,821 18
Japan 29,251 7
Russia 9,902 65
Mexico 9,803 53
China 5,896 81
Nigeria 1,154 159
Source Human Development Report, 2006
3
How to explain theoretically?

• Major debates
• statist vs. neo-liberal

4
Origins of Soviet System

• Lenin, Bolshevik Party
• Slogan Peace, Land, and Bread
• Appeals to
• Soldiers
• Workers
• peasants

5
Goals of Soviet System

• Massive economic transformation
• Rapid industrialization for national defense
• Massive ideological transformation

6
Ideological Transformation Totalitarianism

• Charismatic leader
• Stalin (Gen Sec 1922-53)
• Single dominant party
• CPSU (Communist Party of Soviet Union)
• vanguard party
• democratic centralism
• Utopian, forward-looking ideology
• Marxism-Leninism
• State control over all organized activity
• nomenklatura
• list of positionsappointment controlled by
  party
• Arbitrary terror

7
Totalitarianism Authoritarianism charismatic
leader ? more routinized succession single
dominant party ? single dominant
party utopian, forward-looking ideology ?
economic performance/nationalism state control
over all ? emergence of non-political
private organized activity sphere arbitrary
terror ? end of arbitrary terror,
but no overt challenge to regime
allowed mass mobilization ? apathy okay
8
Economic Transformation Planned Economy

• Contrast market and planned economies
• Contrast Japan and Soviet Union
• Key features of planned economy
• Planners preferences (not consumers prefs)
• ? Heavy industry with defense applications
• State ownership (no private)
• Factories
• Farms
• State-set prices (no free market forces)

9
Planned Economy

• How did the Soviet economy affect the average
  citizen?
• No consumer choice
• No chance to get rich, little socio-economic
  advancement
• But
• Security
• Relatively egalitarian
• Basic needs met
• ? Important to understanding public reaction to
  shock therapy