‘Greatpowerness’ as the key element of Russian self-consciousness under erosion

The article analyzes changes in attitudes to and interpretations of Russian ‘greatpowerness’ (velikoderzhavnost') between the years of 2000 and 2014, that is to say during President Putin's period of rule. The concept of Russia as the great power was changing during this time in two respects: first, there was an increasing reticence of self-assessments; second, we observe prioritization of protecting the country's own, mostly regional, interests as opposed to expansion which would be characteristic of a great power. Moreover, this period clearly demonstrates contradictions and dangers, engendered in the process of losing self-perception as that of the great power. The readiness of Russian political elite to part bit by bit with the status of the great power and to go to the status of a regional power is combined (as the events around Ukraine have shown) with unwillingness to sustain the new status of the country with the help of the capabilities of a soft power. Lack of these, as well as of the skills in their use, and finally, a desire to raise the rating of trust in the government with the help of “a small victorious war” have formed the basis for the aggressive upsurge towards Ukraine. In the absence of serious hard and soft capabilities, the splashes of aggressiveness in Russian foreign policy and of anti-Western sentiments in domestic political life are unlikely to have any lasting effect. They are able, however, to generate extremely negative long-term consequences for the country.     

Modernization as Westernization? The geopolitical consequences of ethno-nationalism analyzed through Russian Art

This paper argues that ethno-nationalist models of state organization encourage and strengthen sectarianism by accentuating differences between respective majority populations and those with non-majority characteristics as problematic, and identifies and explains the impacts of this for intra-state security in the West and for building partnerships with non-Western populations, citing negative implications on how we understand political behavior and for influence in military operations. The paper uses nineteenth-century Russian identity as a case study, considers the conflation between modernization and Westernization occuring at the time and uses Russian Art of the period as an analytical tool to uncover nuances that are relevant to debates concerning security, identity, and political behavior.     

Russian banks’ profit strategies: the evidence from various types of banks

This paper offers an analysis of profit strategies pursued by Russian banks depending on their ownership type, including federal state banks, banks of mixed ownership, banks connected to enterprises producing for the final consumers, and regional pocket banks owned by one particular business group or enterprise. The paper outlines a set of factors that capture a range of potential hindrances on the way to banks’ involvement in Russian economy. It traces how the characteristics of the state regulation and peculiarities of the economic sectors affect the proliferation of certain type of banks—pocket banks—at the expense of others. It looks into how the various types of banks function under the given set of political and economic constraints, and how these constraints shape the banking system in Russia and its relationships with the enterprises and sectors.     

Russian Public Sector Employees’ Reasoning of Ethical Behavior: An Empirical Study

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to examine the ethical reasoning of Russian public sector employees based on age, gender, management experience, specialization by the area of activity, and tenure with the current employer. Using t-test and one-way ANOVA statistical analyses, this study analyzed the ethical reasoning of 199 Russian public sector employees. Significant differences in ethical reasoning were observed among public sector employees based on age and specialization by the area of activity, but no significant differences in ethical reasoning were found among respondents based on gender, management experience and tenure with current employer.     

Geopolitical Imaginaries in Russian Foreign Policy: The Evolution of ‘Greater Eurasia’

Abstract

Russian foreign policy thinkers have used a succession of geopolitical imaginaries to articulate a Russian role and identity in the post-Cold War era. This essay analyses one such spatial project, the idea of ‘Greater Eurasia’, which imagines a new geopolitical geometry centred on Sino–Russian cooperation. The ‘Greater Eurasia’ discourse provides a new role for Russia in international affairs but also makes far-reaching claims about the nature of the emerging, post-liberal world order. The essay concludes with an analysis of the main challenges to the ‘Greater Eurasia’ project.     

Conflicting Patterns of Thought in the Russian Debate on Transition: 2003–2007

This article is a continuation of two essays by the same author on Soviet and Russian economic debates between 1987 and 2002 published in Europe-Asia Studies in 2006 and 2007. In the most recent phase of these debates, between 2003 and 2007, as in previous phases, the questions raised went far beyond the usual realm of economics. The questions raised included whether Russia should attempt to become a ‘Western’ country marked by democracy and a market economy serving the individual interests of its citizens or whether it was more important to become a great power again; whether Western patterns of political and economic life are suitable for Russia or whether the attempt to import foreign institutional structures is doomed to failure, making it necessary for Russia to find her own way. The discussion here is based on a qualitative content analysis of the most important economic journals and selected monographs.     

Conflicting Patterns of Thought in the Russian Debate on Modernisation and Innovation 2008–2013

This article draws conclusions based on an analysis of the relationship between economic ideas and institutional change in Soviet and post-Soviet Russia, so far covering roughly the years from 1971 to 2007. It analyses the recent debate on economic modernisation in Russian economics. We argue that the relative failure of transition has to be seen in the context of a ‘failed transition of the mind’ and that the recent modernisation debate resembles the debate of the Brezhnev period.     

Cops,spies and private eyes—changing patterns of Russian policing: A review article

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Martin Ebon, KGB: Death and Rebirth. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1994, xii + 229 pp., $24.95.

Amy Knight, Spies Without Cloaks. The KGB's Successors. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1996, xx+ 318 pp., £16.95.

Hsi‐Huey Liang, The Rise of the Modern Police and the European State System from Metternich to the Second World War, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992, xiii + 345 pp., £30.00.

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Fredric Zuckerman, The Tsarist Secret Police in Russian Society, 1880–1917. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1996, xiii + 345 pp., £45.00.     

European Reactions to the 2008 Georgian–Russian War: Assessing the Impact of Gas Dependence

Western observers and policymakers have voiced anxiety about Europe’s increasing dependence on Russian natural gas fueling Russian imperial ambitions. In 2008, speculation appeared to become reality, as war broke out between Russia and its post-Soviet, but Western-leaning neighbor, Georgia. But did a country’s dependence on Russian natural gas influence its politicians’ responses to the Georgian–Russian war? An analysis of the voting behavior in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe provides insight into conventional claims that a reliance on Russian energy dampens the willingness of European states to publicly criticize Russia.     

The “Rape of Europe”: 2016 New Year's Eve sexual assaults in Cologne in hegemonic discourse of Russian media

The article deals with the Russian media coverage of sexual assaults against women during the 2016 New Year's Eve celebrations in Cologne. The authors examine it in the frame of discourse of “Gayropa” that represents the EU via changes in gender order of the West European societies. The pro-Kremlin media coverage of the “Rape of Europe” contributes to positioning Russia in the world, maintaining power legitimacy in the country, and supporting gender order in Russian society. The media discourse treats it as an evidence of decline of the European civilization.     

Party Reforms and the Unbalancing of the Cleavage Structure in Russian Regional Elections, 2012–2015

This study analyses the influence of the party reforms of 2012 and the ‘counter-reforms’ of 2013–2014 on the Russian party system, and the structure of political and electoral cleavages in Russian regions. The emergence of new political parties in 2012–2013 led to a temporary increase in electoral competition, an augmentation of the political space, and a rise in the number of electoral cleavages, but these developments did not weaken the domination of United Russia. The trend towards an ever greater tightening up of entry requirements for contestation in the elections led to a lowering of the number of political and, consequently, electoral cleavages, in addition to a reconfiguration of the political space. The study shows that there was an unbalancing of the political cleavage structure in 2012–2015: the socioeconomic political cleavage, whose primary place is a key determinant of equilibrium, ceded the top position to the authoritarian–democratic cleavage in 2012–2013, and to the ‘Ukrainian’ (systemic) cleavage in 2014–2015.     

Russia Resurgent,Russophobia in Decline? Polish Perceptions of Relations with the Russian Federation 2004–2012

How accurate is it to speak of a Polish russophobia today? The historic view of Poland as the easternmost bulwark of Western Christianity has involved an ‘othering’ of Russia that may be less salient following Poland's membership in the European Union. Elite and citizen attitudes towards Russia since 2004 are analysed and, in particular, the impact of the nationalistic policies of the Kaczyńskis promoted between 2005 and 2007 is assessed. Data indicate that Poles' attitudes have shifted from a fear of foreigners, including Russians, in part because of an increased sense of collective security, in part because of newfound economic confidence. The 2010 Smolensk air disaster that resulted in the deaths of many Polish leaders has been a valence issue in Polish domestic politics, but has generally advantaged politicians opposed to fanning fears of Russia. Since 2007, the two Tusk-led governments have registered Poles' mixed attitudes towards Russia more faithfully than the Kaczyńskis' leadership did. This has served as the basis for engaging in more cooperative foreign relations with Russia.     

Russian Local Politics in the Putin–Medvedev Era

Political reforms and changes on the local level by the Putin–Medvedev leadership have resulted in an almost unprecedented turnover of leadership but they have aroused political conflict and even resistance by unsettling the political status quo throughout the 83 subnational units of the Russian Federation. The reforms have resulted in the marginalisation of the authority of city mayors, the recruitment from outside of chief executives of federation regions, and the polarisation of ethnic enclaves by national policies. Destabilising everything is the combination of a United Russia (Edinaya Rossiya) political party bent on national dominance, ambiguous liberal appeals and democratic reforms by President Medvedev, and a global economic recession.     

Russian Orthodox concordat? Church and state under Medvedev

The literature on church-state relations in post-Soviet Russia has been slowly but steadily expanding over the past two decades. The period since 2008, however, remains underdeveloped, as existing analysis has focused on specific issues rather than attempting an overview of the larger trends since the above-mentioned changes in the leadership of both institutions. Seeking to address this gap, this article explores the implications of the nearly coincidental changeovers in leadership in the Moscow Patriarchate and the secular state for church-state relations in Russia, both near and long-term. The first part of the article sets up the context for understanding the new church-state dynamic, by discussing in some detail the state of the relationship under Patriarch Aleksii II. The conclusions are that, under Aleksii tenure, the church could be considered a relatively weak institution, as it was unable for the most part to strengthen its position in Russia through legislative means. The second part focuses on the process whereby the new patriarch came to be elected in 2009, intending thereby to shed some light on Kirill I's leadership style and political agenda. The third part discusses concrete changes in the church-state relationship that have occurred on the federal level since 2008. The final section proposes some conclusions regarding the importance of the Russian Orthodox Church as a political actor in the contemporary Russian Federation, suggesting that despite the recent gains in the church's political fortunes, the ROC's position in society and particularly vis-à-vis the government remains vulnerable in key respects.