Popular Choice and Managed Democracy : The Russian Elections of 1999 and 2000

Twice in the winter of 1999-2000, citizens of the Russian Federation flocked to their neighbourhood voting stations and scratched their ballots in an atmosphere of uncertainty, rancor and fear. This book is a tale of these two elections - one for the 450-seat Duma, the other for president. Despite financial crisis, a national security emergency in Chechnya, and cabinet instability, Russian voters unexpectedly supported the status quo. The elected lawmakers were prepared to co-operate with the executive branch, a gift that had eluded President Boris Yeltsin since he imposed a post-Soviet constitution by referendum in 1993. When Yeltsin retired six months in advance of schedule, the presidential mantle went to Vladimir Putin - a career KGB officer who fused new and old ways of doing politics. Putin was easily elected president in his own right. This book demonstrates key trends in an extinct superpower, a troubled country in whose stability, modernization and openness to the international community the West still has a huge stake. Twice in the winter of 1999-2000, citizens of the Russian Federation flocked to their neighborhood voting stations and scratched their ballots in an atmosphere of uncertainty, rancor, and fear. This book is a tale of those two elections -- one for the 450-seat Duma, the other for president. Despite financial crisis, a national security emergency in Chechnya, and cabinet instability, Russian voters unexpectedly supported the status quo. The elected lawmakers prepared to cooperate with the executive branch, a gift that had eluded President Boris Yeltsin since he imposed a post-Soviet constitution by referendum in 1993. When Yeltsin retired six months in advance of schedule, the presidential mantle went to Vladimir Putin -- a career KGB officer who fused the new and old ways of playing Russian politics. Putin was easily elected. His victory has produced dramatic changes in the way that Russia is governed. This book demonstrates key political trends in a former superpower, a troubled country in whose stability, modernization, and openness to the international community the West still has a huge stake.

Twice in the winter of 1999-2000, citizens of the Russian Federation flocked to their neighborhood voting stations and scratched their ballots in an atmosphere of uncertainty, rancor, and fear. This book is a tale of these two elections—one for the 450-seat Duma, the other for President. Despite financial crisis, a national security emergency in Chechnya, and cabinet instability, Russian voters unexpectedly supported the status quo. The elected lawmakers prepared to cooperate with the executive branch, a gift that had eluded President Boris Yeltsin since he imposed a post-Soviet constitution by referendum in 1993. When Yeltsin retired six months in advance of schedule, the presidential mantle went to Vladimir Putin—a career KGB officer who fused new and old ways of doing politics. Putin was easily elected President in his own right. This book demonstrates key trends in an extinct superpower, a troubled country in whose stability, modernization, and openness to the international community the West still has a huge stake.

"Despite financial crisis, a national security emergency in Chechnya, and cabinet instability, Russian voters unexpectedly supported the status quo. The elected lawmakers prepared to cooperate with the executive branch, a gift that had eluded President Boris Yeltsin since he imposed a post-Soviet constitution by referendum in 1993. When Yeltsin retired six months in advance of schedule, the presidential mantle went to Vladimir Putin - a career KGB officer who fused new and old ways of doing politics. Putin was easily elected President in his own right." "This book demonstrates key trends in an extinct superpower, a troubled country in whose stability, modernization, and openness to the international community the West still has a huge stake."--Jacket Cover......Page 1 Title Page......Page 4 Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 1. Introduction: The Transition within the Transition......Page 14 2. Setting the Scene......Page 28 3. The Party of Power......Page 60 4. The Party of Hubris......Page 92 5. The Communists......Page 121 6. The Liberals......Page 152 7. Putin......Page 184 8. Results, Consequences, and Implications for U.S. Policy......Page 211 Appendix A. The Survey Work......Page 243 Appendix B. A Statistical Model of the Vote......Page 245 Appendix C. The Mass Media and the Elections......Page 254 Appendix D. Tracing the Flow of the Vote......Page 260 Notes......Page 268 Index......Page 320

Colton (government and Russian studies, Harvard U.) and McFaul (Hoover Institute and political science, Stanford U.) explain how and why one particular group prevailed in the pair of recent elections, and what difference the victory makes to the country, its postcommunist transition, and the outside world. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

THIS BOOK IS A TALE of linked political events: a pair of recent elections in the heir to an extinct superpower, a troubled nation in whose stability, modernization, and openness to the global community the West still has a huge stake.