PSCI5172 - Russian Politics in Comparative-Historical Perspective
Status
X
Activity
LEC
Section number integer
401
Title (text only)
Russian Politics in Comparative-Historical Perspective
Term
2024A
Subject area
PSCI
Section number only
401
Section ID
PSCI5172401
Course number integer
5172
Meeting times
CANCELED
Level
graduate
Instructors
Rudra Sil
Description
Course examines Russian politics, with an eye to how political, economic and social changes have been engineered, experienced, and perceived by Russians. For those with graduate standing or advanced background in Russian studies, graduate credit is available for additional readings and research to be discussed with the professor. For either version, the goal is to gain an in-depth understanding of contemporary Russia, its regime, its economy, its society, and its foreign policy (the latter being especially critical against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine).
This process begins with a consideration of the historical inheritance bequeathed by the Soviet era. Thus, the first part of the course examines the origins and evolution of the Soviet regime from Lenin to Gorbachev. The point is not to master historical details but to grasp the continuities and changes in political dynamics, social conditions, and planned economic development, since some of these would shape aspects of the post-Soviet transition. The second part delves into the evolution of Russia's politics, economics, society and foreign policy, first during the early years of transition under Boris Yeltsin (1992-99), and then primarily under Vladimir Putin (2000- ). In this section, we cover Russia’s state and political system, the fluctuations in economic growth, changing social conditions over time, as well as foreign policy. In the process, we will also consider the origins and role of oligarchs, patterns of political protest, social/demographic trends and the management of Russia’s energy resources. We will also seek to better understand the shifts in Russia’s foreign policy over time and the sources of the sharp decline in US-Russia relations, with a focus on the conditions leading up to the Ukraine war and the increasing alienation of Russia from the West. In all these domains, we will consider what the empirical evidence suggests about Russia relative to conventional images as presented in the West and also in comparison to the trajectories of other non-Western countries (e.g. China, Turkey, India).
This process begins with a consideration of the historical inheritance bequeathed by the Soviet era. Thus, the first part of the course examines the origins and evolution of the Soviet regime from Lenin to Gorbachev. The point is not to master historical details but to grasp the continuities and changes in political dynamics, social conditions, and planned economic development, since some of these would shape aspects of the post-Soviet transition. The second part delves into the evolution of Russia's politics, economics, society and foreign policy, first during the early years of transition under Boris Yeltsin (1992-99), and then primarily under Vladimir Putin (2000- ). In this section, we cover Russia’s state and political system, the fluctuations in economic growth, changing social conditions over time, as well as foreign policy. In the process, we will also consider the origins and role of oligarchs, patterns of political protest, social/demographic trends and the management of Russia’s energy resources. We will also seek to better understand the shifts in Russia’s foreign policy over time and the sources of the sharp decline in US-Russia relations, with a focus on the conditions leading up to the Ukraine war and the increasing alienation of Russia from the West. In all these domains, we will consider what the empirical evidence suggests about Russia relative to conventional images as presented in the West and also in comparison to the trajectories of other non-Western countries (e.g. China, Turkey, India).
Course number only
5172
Cross listings
PSCI1172406, REES1535406
Use local description
No