Historical Legacies of Communism in Russia and Eastern Europe

This book takes stock of arguments about the historical legacies of communism that have become common within the study of Russia and East Europe more than two decades after communism's demise and elaborates an empirical approach to the study of historical legacies revolving around relationships and mechanisms rather than correlation and outward similarities. Eleven essays by a distinguished group of scholars assess whether post-communist developments in specific areas continue to be shaped by the experience of communism or, alternatively, by fundamental divergences produced before or after communism. Chapters deal with the variable impact of the communist experience on post-communist societies in such areas as regime trajectories and democratic political values; patterns of regional and sectoral economic development; property ownership within the energy sector; the functioning of the executive branch of government, the police, and courts; the relationship of religion to the state; government language policies; and informal relationships and practices-- Machine generated contents note: 1. The historical legacies of communism: an empirical agenda Stephen Kotkin and Mark R. Beissinger; 2. Communist development and the post-communist democratic deficit Grigore Pop-Eleches; 3. Room for error: the economic legacy of Soviet spatial misallocation Clifford G. Gaddy; 4. Legacies of industrialization and paths of transnational integration after Socialism Be;la Greskovits; 5. The limits of legacies: property rights in Russian energy Timothy Frye; 6. Legacies and departures in the Russian state executive Eugene Huskey; 7. From police state to police state? Legacies and law enforcement in Russia Brian D. Taylor; 8. How judges arrest and acquit: Soviet legacies in post-communist criminal justice Alexei Trochev; 9. Historical roots of religious influence on post-communist democratic politics Anna Grzymala-Busse; 10. Soviet nationalities policies and the discrepancy between ethnocultural identification and language practice in Ukraine Volodymyr Kulyk; 11. Pokazukha and cardiologist Khrenov: Soviet legacies, legacy theater, and a usable past Jessica Pisano. edited by Mark Beissinger, Stephen Kotkin. Includes bibliographical references and index. Cover 1 Half-title 3 Advance praise 4 Title page 5 Copyright information 6 Table of contents 7 List of contributors 9 Acknowledgments 11 1 The Historical Legacies of Communism: An Empirical Agenda 13 Replacing Transitions with Legacies? 16 What Is a Historical Legacy? 19 Forms of Legacy Relationships 23 Toward More Robust Legacy Arguments 29 Organization of the Volume 32 Notes 34 References 35 2 Communist Development and the Postcommunist Democratic Deficit 40 Communist Modernization – Achievements and Limitations 42 Nondemocratizing Development: Assessing the Regime Legacies of Communism 47 Explaining the Unusual Communist Development-Democracy Link 52 Nondemocratizing Education 53 The Secret Charm of Communist Cities? 56 Conclusion and Implications 58 Notes 58 References 60 3 Room for Error: The Economic Legacy of Soviet Spatial Misallocation 64 The Legacy of Spatial Misallocation 65 Origin of the Legacy: How Did It Happen? 67 Extent of the Distortion 68 The Cost of the Distortion 71 Is the Legacy Being Overcome? 75 Conclusion: Dealing with the “Gnarled Tree Economy” 76 Notes 77 References 78 4 Legacies of Industrialization and Paths of Transnational Integration after Socialism 80 Inherited Socialist and Emerging Capitalist Industries: Continuity and Change 81 Logics of Foreign-led Reindustrialization and Deindustrialization 86 Perceptions and Choices in Uncertain Conditions 91 Conclusions 99 References 99 5 The Limits of Legacies: Property Rights in Russian Energy 102 Common Legacy, Different Outcomes: The Privatization of Oil and Gas 104 One Legacy, Different Outcomes over Time: Expropriation in the Oil Sector 109 Different Legacies, Similar Outcomes? 112 Conclusion 118 Notes 118 References 119 6 Legacies and Departures in the Russian State Executive 123 Legacy Patterns in the Organization of the Postcommunist Russian Executive 124 Legacy Patterns in the Recruitment of the Postcommunist Russian Executive 128 Legacy Patterns in the Rituals of the Postcommunist Russian Executive 132 Conclusion 133 Notes 135 References 137 7 From Police State to Police State? Legacies and Law Enforcement in Russia 140 What Counts as a Legacy? 141 Organizational Legacies in Russian Law Enforcement 143 FSB 143 MVD 145 The Procuracy 148 Organizational Legacies: Summary 150 Cultural and Behavioral Legacies 150 Policing and Personal Freedom 151 Institutional Rivalry and Elite Chekists 152 Everyday Policing: Serving the Plan and One’s Pocket 155 Cultural and Behavioral Legacies: Summary 159 Conclusion 159 Notes 160 References 160 8 How Judges Arrest and Acquit 164 Wholesale Approval of Pretrial Detention 167 Legacy as Fragmentation 167 Legacy as Translation 168 Legacy as Bricolage 174 Avoidance of Acquittals in Postcommunist Criminal Justice 179 Legacy as Fragmentation 179 Legacy as Translation 181 Legacy as Bricolage 184 Conclusion 186 Notes 187 References 187 9 Historical Roots of Religious Influence on Postcommunist Democratic Politics 191 Differences in Policy Influence across Postcommunist Democracy 192 Communist Legacies, Religion, and National Identities 194 Fusing Nation and Religion in East Central Europe 196 The Policy Consequences of National-Religious Fusion 202 Conclusion 210 Notes 210 References 211 10 Soviet Nationalities Policies and the Discrepancy between Ethnocultural... 214 The Phenomenon of Discrepant Ethnic and Linguistic Markers 215 Origins of the Legacy: Soviet Nationalities and Language Policies 220 Mechanisms of the Legacy’s Reproduction 224 Conclusion 229 Notes 231 References 231 11 Pokazukha and Cardiologist Khrenov 234 Pokazukha 236 Vladimir Vladimirovich and the Doctor from Ivanovo 238 Soviet Legacies? Interpreting the Doctor’s Crimes 240 Legacy Theater: A Pokazukha Matrioshka 242 Usable Pasts: Murzilki Salute Pioneer Ivan 246 Conclusion 248 Notes 250 References 252 Index 255