AP COGO Name: ______________________________ Date: ________________________
Textbook Reading – RUSSIA (Chapter 4, Kesselman 7th Edition)
Answer ALL parts of each question to get credit for the question.
Section 1: The Making of the Modern Russian State
Politics in Action
1. Describe why the punk rock band, Pussy Riot, was arrested and imprisoned.
Why were 2 members released in 2013?
Geographic Setting
2. Describe Russia’s unique geography.
3. Identify pockets of instability on Russia’s borders.
Critical Junctures
4. Describe Russia’s governing system until 1917.
5. Describe the role of each of the following in the development of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
Bolsheviks:
Democratic centralism:
Vanguard party:
War Communism:
Cheka:
6. Identify the role that each of the following in the USSR under Joseph Stalin’s rule:
Consolidation of state power:
Collectivization:
Industrialization:
Gosplan:
Censorship:
Isolation from the outside world:
7. Briefly describe the period known as “destalinization.”
8. What was the purpose of Mikhail Gorbachev’s reform program?
Define each:
Perestroika:
Glasnost:
Demokratizatsiia:
“New Thinking”:
9. What were the results of Gorbachev’s policies?
10. How did Boris Yeltsin become president of the Russian Republic of the USSR?
11. Describe the coup and its results.
12. Describe what occurred in October – December of 1993.
13. How did Vladimir Putin come to power?
14. What reforms did Putin introduce over his tenure as both president and prime minister of Russia that indicate a
drift towards “soft authoritarianism”?
Themes & Comparisons
15. Describe the events that have contributed to tensions between Russia and the West in recent years (including
annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region).
16. Describe how Russian democracy has been challenged in recent years.
17. Why do Russians lack a collective identity?
Describe the 2013 law that received international criticism.
18. How did Russia’s transition from authoritarian rule to democratic governance differ from other countries making
the transition?
How may this account for their recent “backsliding”?
How has the “resource curse” threatened Russia’s success?
Section 2: Political Economy & Development
19. What natural resources is Russia’s economy highly dependent on?
20. Following the collapse of the USSR, how was privatization carried out?
21. What was a key obstacle to the success of market reform agenda in the 1990s?
22. What role did each of the following play in the aftermath of market reform?
Oligarchs:
Corruption:
Russian Mafia:
23. How did Putin attempt to strengthen the capacity of the state to maintain economic growth?
How did Putin try to check the power of oligarchs like Mikhail Khordorkovsky?
Society and Economy
24. What were the benefits of the Soviet economic system to the average citizen?
25. What were some of the disadvantages/costs of the Soviet economic system?
26. Describe the current public policy challenges for
Social welfare:
Population:
Environmental Issues
27. In the Soviet period, an emphasis on __________________________ at the expense of environmental protection
resulted in high levels of _____________ and ____________pollution, with associated health problems.
What caused the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986? What have the consequences been?
Summarize Russia’s response to environmental issues in recent years.
Russia in the Global Economy
28. Which international organizations contributed economic assistance to Russia after 1991?
29. Russia has become more open to foreign investment, but how is this limited by a 2006 law?
In the face of increased tensions with the West, Russia is seeking to increase energy exports to
____________.
Section 3: Governance & Policymaking
Organization of the State
30. What role did the nomenklatura system play in governing under the Soviet regime?
31. When and how was the current Russian constitution adopted?
The Executive
32. Semi-Presidential System (aka mixed Presidential-Parliamentary system):**The current President is
Putin & current PM is Medvedev (as of March 2013)
Head of State/general role:
Head of Government/general role:
How is the president elected and how long is his term? (see chart on p.284)
How is the prime minister selected?
33. What power did Yeltsin use frequently? Name some additional powers of the president.
34. How can the PM be removed? Why does the Duma not exercise this power?
35. Briefly describe the national bureaucracy. Include a definition of:
Siloviki
Clientelistic Networks
36. Identify public and semipublic institutions, including Gazprom.
Other State Institutions
37. Describe the role of the Russian Judiciary:
What is the purpose of the Constitutional Court?
What is the purpose of the Supreme Court?
What is the relationship between the Judiciary and the Executive?
38. Russia is a federal system. How many subunits are there? ______ How are they organized? (see box on p. 289)
39. Define “power vertical”:
What steps has Putin taken to implement the “power vertical”?
40. Describe the role of the Federal Security Service and the Russian military in recent years.
What does the case of former FSS agent, Alexander Litvinenko, reveal about the power of Putin/Kremlin?
The Policy-Making Process
41. What must happen for a bill to become a law in Russia? How can this be bypassed?
Section 4: Representation & Participation
42. Define civil society and describe civil society in Russia.
The Legislature
43. The Russian legislature is bicameral:
Upper House: Called ____________________; Represents Russia’s _____________________
o ________ members from each of Russia’s federal regions and republics
o How are members chosen? (go back to box on p. 289-290):
Lower House: Called ____________________ How many members? _____ How are members chosen
(include electoral system)?
44. How has the role of women in the legislature changed from the Soviet days?
Political Parties and the Party System
45. In the 1990’s many parties formed around ___________________. How did this affect the development of
political parties in recent years?
46. Russia currently has a dominant party system. Define this term and identify the dominant party.
47. Briefly describe the current political parties in Russia:
United Russia:
Communist Party of Russian Federation (CPRF):
A Just Russia:
Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) – a misnomer!!:
48. Explain what has happened to the liberal/reform parties (those that most strongly support Western economic
and political values) since 2003.
Elections
49. What is the voter turnout in Russian elections? ______________
50. Until 2007, the electoral system for selecting the Duma combined _________________________ (with a ____%
threshold) with winter-take-all districts.
In an interlude from 2007 until 2014, the single member districts were ________________________ and all
deputies were elected on the basis of __________________________with a m\minimum winning threshold
of ________%
In February 2014 the electoral system returned to a system similar to the one that existed prior to 2007.
What new requirements are there for registration of candidates & parties?
51. Why have opposition parties fared so poorly in Russia?
Political Culture, Citizenship, and Identity
52. According to the 2010 census Russians now make up ______% of the population
The largest minority group is the ____________ (3.7%), other minority groups include the Bashkirs (1.1%),
many Muslim groups in northern Caucasus region, and ethnic groups such as Ukrainians and Armenians
53. What role does the Russian Orthodox Church play in Russian identity?
54. Describe the attitudes towards women in Russian culture.
Interest Groups, Social Movements, and Protest
55. Since Putin signed legislation amending laws on public associations and noncommercial organizations, what
obstacles have been created for associations/non-governmental organizations?
56. How are protesters, such as “The Other Russia,” treated?
The Political Impact of Technology
57. Article 20 of the Russian constitution guarantees “freedom of the mass media” and prohibits censorship.
HOWEVER, Russia ranked ______ out of 179 countries in terms of press freedom
An estimated _____ journalists have been murdered since 1992, making Russia the _______ most dangerous
country for journalists in the world.
58. What role does the media play in Russia?
59. Summarize how both citizens and the government utilize the Internet for political participation.
Section 5: Russian Politics in Transition
Youth Politics and the Generational Divide
60. What is the purpose of the youth group, Nashi?
Whew!! You did it!
