POLI 347--Test 2
Putin identity definition
"State civilization fastened together by Russian language, Russian people, Russian culture." Russian political culture
Ukraine Referendum
A referendum on the Act of Declaration of Independence was held in Ukraine on 1 December 1991.[1] An overwhelming majority of 92.3% of voters approved the declaration of independence made by the Verkhovna Rada on 24 August 1991.
Asymmetric federalism
A system of federalism where the regions vary legally from each other.
Eurasian Economic Community
Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, customs union, more extensive economic cooperation than NAFTA (EEC does not involve as much trade but has customs union)
Communist Party Today
Only Actual opposition party (42/450 seats)
Duma
Oversight: 1.) Control legislation (less control of budget--set by Pres. + more through leg.; 2.) control of government (i.e. Duma can block president's appointees from getting in; can vote no confidence; presidents need legislative support. 450 members @ five year terms half of members elected by single member constituency + other half elected with proportional representation (party list syatem)
Georgian war
Short war between Russia and Georgia. Russia won. It's a good example of how Putin doesn't want to recreate the soviet union because he didn't take any land.
Party System
The 450 seats in the Duma are assigned exclusively from party lists under a law adopted in 2005 on the initiative of President Putin. He claimed it would strengthen the party system by reducing the number of parties in the Duma (cf. public opinion on reform). The chief features of the law are: All seats are awarded by proportional representation. The threshold for eligibility to win seats is 7.0 percent. In 2007, three parties represented in the previous Duma passed this threshold--United Russia, the Communist Party and the Liberal Democrats, as did Fair Russia, largely based on Motherland in the former Duma. Together, these four parties won around 90 percent of the vote. At the initiative of President Medvedev, in spring 2009 the Duma passed an amendment which would allocate one seat to parties winning between five and six percent of the vote, and two seats to parties winning between six and seven percent. This allocation would occur before distributing seats to parties passing the seven percent threshold. There were no parties winning between 5% and 7% in 2007.
National champions
The Russian companies that can compete internationally because of their monopoly at home, Cooper gave example of aluminum company.
presidential envoys (polpredy)
The president's direct representatives to the federal districts, kept the regional governments on a tight leash.
Putin leadership Style
Transition is over and now it's time for consolidation; rather than systemic transformation, he's going for system management;
Tools of Russian influence
economic tools with size of economy and oil and gas and migrant labor military tools with troops nearby or inside example: Crimea in 2014, Russia had major naval base... didn't have to invade Crimea because troops were already there... others include Moldova and Georgia... countries have begged Russia to get their troops out but haven't culture tools with soft power regional organizations ethnic minorities: over 30% in Estonia, Latvia and Kazakhstan... ?? on Belarus and Ukraine. important economically, treated with suspicion
Defining identity
ethnic - Russkii (Russian percentage) excludes many minorities, also culture (Orthodox) language - Russian speaking more inclusive, includes millions outside Russia Civic - Rossiskii/Rossiianin borders of state seems to practically fit conflict: Russian nationalism
Chernomyrdin
"Less shock, more therapy" Free market continues (although dysfunctional) and with more state intervention Government continues to pump money and resources into factories, industries etc., they do this to try and prevent more unemployment and keep paying the employees. Gvrmnt putting more into factories then getting out which doesn't encourage capitalism and the free market economy because the factories production rates were very low; more state intervention=support of individuals + companies; kinder, gentler econ. reform
Federation Council
(170 people--85x2) 1 chosen by regional governor/pres. and other chosen by regional legislature; since 2004, pres. of Russia nominates governors--gives Pres. of Russ. power over 1/2 of Fed. Council; Powers of legislature=(FC) military, judiciary; (FC)=approves boundary changes, treaties.
Yeltsin Leadership (pro/con)
(1991-1999) Pros: New constitution; successful transition to market economy; could connect with voters in positive way; Cons: bold on big issues, but WEAK manager; tolerated corruption + cronyism, which makes an oligarchic sort of economy with some very rich people; wanted to change everything too fast? shock therapy; economic stagnation; rise in crime; didn't endure the plans around him happened. Westernizing: mixed record of success and failure--ultimately no huge changes.
privatization goals
(SU owned every business, every food stand, market, etc., wanted to transfer state run economy to private owners): Efficiency Create a new class of property owners (Agricultural privatization) 1992-94 first wave of privatization with small-medium farms 1995-98 second wave, larger farms
USSR Collapse
--Happened partly because of decentralization of USSR --Coup of 1991 contributed --Also perestroika's initiatives (and glasnost) contributed to this --Russia wanted more of its own power
Yeltsin Resistance
--He worked to gain power after the coup --Banned communism in Russia --accepted Baltic independence --Ukraine Referendum helped with this --Wanted to take over Russia after collapse if USSR
Soviet Socialist Republics
--ethnically based administrative units that were subordinated directly to the Government of the Soviet Union. --One of the contributing factors to the fall of the Soviet Union
Free but not fair elections
1990 elections are free because Opposition was allowed to run Multiple parties running, and sometimes those parties even won Not fair because: Heavy media bias Oligarchs spent a lot of money on their favorite candidates, thus getting all the coverage Journalists were attacked and harassed depending on what they reported State positions were used to redirect provisions and efforts to certain candidates Election fraud 2000 elections, voting neither free nor fair
Putin party reforms
2007 Putin changed the threshold to 7% harder to register parties: have to have thousands of people all over Russia (not just one region); (key elements in Putin's consolidation) this gives Putin more power, while keeping tons of small parties out of the picture.
August 1991 Coup
8-9 Top communist leaders tried to overthrow Gorb. because his reforms were causing USSR to fall; Goal was to restore communism; put G. under house arrest; because Gorb. was allowing countries to fall away, coup made a union treaty; Coup failed because they failed to use force, could not take Yeltsin down, and orders not always carried out (partially incompetence, partially change of Russian people.
Multiparty politics
A system with more than one party--began with Democratization
Loans for Shares
After all the small firms and assets had been sold, the problem was getting rid of large factories and enterprises. Again, the problem was that there was no one rich enough to buy them. In order to remedy this, the government took out loans from banks, and promised to give up shares in their company as collateral with the intent to default on the loans to "sell" their assets. There was much backlash for this practice.
Putin's federalism
Began heavy reforms to reign in the regions and consolidate power
Putin accomplishments
Centralization within regions, tax reforms, econ. reform=partial privatization Russia as great power; party system more stable (from 5-7% threshold); oligarchs effectively neutered--no longer challenge Putin as they did before; Russia=more prosperous than before.
October 1993 Conflict
Conflict about Economic reforms in Yeltsin's presidency; constitutional showdown between Y. and legislature. o Yeltsin obtained temporary emergency power o Y. Moved rapidly into market-oriented reforms o Legislature more reluctant and wanted to fix Russia/USSR o Significant battle for supremacy between leg. and president o Yeltsin argued that the legislature wasn't legitimate and was skewed towards communism. o Yeltsin held referendum in 1993
Core nationalities
Create higher risk of break-up in states; dual power: rival center of power capable of destabilizing the union state; security fears: can generate or exacerbate perceived security threats in minority regions; community imagining: can promote the identity-based conceptualization of a core group political existence separate from the union state.
Federal districts
Created 7 "Federal Districts" that encompassed all regions, bringing them under executive oversight. All heads of these districts were members of the Security Council, thus having a direct connection to the president. Silovoki - government oversight Ministries reorganized to put them in line with the executive (criminal prosecution for governors and officials that don't go along with the polpredy).
how legislators elected
DUMA=450 members @ five year terms half of members elected by single member constituency + other half elected with proportional representation (party list system); Federation Council (FC) (170 people--85x2) 1 chosen by regional governor/pres. and other chosen by regional legislature; since 2004, pres. of Russia nominates governors--gives Pres. of Russ. power over 1/2 of Fed. Council; Powers of legislature=(FC) military, judiciary; (FC)=approves boundary changes, treaties.
Chairman Gorbachev
Demokratiya--elected indirectly by elected officials; first official elected in this way in USSR
Selective Prosecution
Dissident officials refusing to fall in line with Moscow were conveniently prosecuted for crimes and removed.
government institutions
Elected President; Elected legislature; National Guard and Security Council; also Cabinet; Post 1993: weak, bicameral legislature: 1st house=DUMA (450 members) @ 5 year terms 1/2 of members of Duma elected by single member constituency; other half (225); party list system (PR system) elected with proportional representation (Party list system); 2nd house (Federation Council)=1 chosen by regional governor or regional president, 1 chosen by regional legislature
Ethnofederalism
Federal System in which component regions are intentionally associated with specific categories. USSR fell only after the core Russian Republic conspired with two of the 14 ethnic minority union republics to dissolve the union.
Putin path to power
Former KGB officer during the last years of the USSR Became Prime Minister in Aug 1999 Provided party support for Unity, which boosted its popular support Following these elections, Unity won a majority of seats In Dec 1999, Yeltsin steps down and Putin becomes acting president Due to his great support, he goes from a relatively unknown politician to a vastly popular candidate, winning the presidential election in Mar 2000 His popularity surges after re-launching the war in Chechnya following the Moscow terrorist attacks Putin spent over 15 years in the KGB as a mid-level agent. He was stationed in East Germany, and would eventually rise to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Putin was appointed to the position of chairman of St Petersburg city council's international relations committee in 1991. He later combined the role with that of deputy chairman of the entire city council in 1994. In 1997, he became deputy head of the Executive Office of the President before being promoted to first deputy head of the Presidential Administration. Then, in 1999 he was appointed Prime Minister of Russia by then-president Boris Yeltsin, who would later make Putin acting president. When the 2000 presidential election came around, Putin won 53 percent of the vote. In 2004 he did even better, sweeping up 71 percent.
Post-1998 recovery
Gas prices rose (very good for Russia); Russia grows 5-7% each year; current econ. decline taking some popularity away from Putin
Georgian/Moldovan wine
Georgia and Moldova block Russia from joining the WTO, Russian officials refuse entry to the wines Georgia and Moldova exports to Russia because of environmental laws "finding" pesticides and minerals that were unhealthy
Gorbachev Background
Gorbachev's parents were peasants. His father, Sergei, operated a combine harvester for a living. Sergei was drafted into the Russian Army when the Nazis invaded the USSR in 1941; In 1984, Gorbachev's mentor at the Kremlin, Yuri Andropov, general secretary of the Communist Party, died. An important year in Gorbachev's timeline, 1984 was also when he first met Margaret Thatcher, prime minister of Great Britain, with whom he would develop a strong relationship. In 1985, when Andropov's successor, Konstantin Chernenko, also died, Gorbachev was elected general secretary of the Communist Party. SEC. OF AGRICULTURE early on.
Dual Citizenship
Granting people dual citizenship for Russians abroad, shows Russia is not completely connected to the civic definition, branching out towards ethnic and language definitions
Slavophile or Westernizer? (Putin)
He's neither, but a hybrid of both. He takes from what he needs to help Russia
Putin's (selective) cooperation with West
Helping out and supporting US during Afghanistan war Pushed for multilateral decision making with UN Both American and Russian militia cooperation in patrolling mediterranean areas
1998 crisis, results
High government debt of about 110% ratio Very poor taxation system Low oil prices Asian crisis spillover Results Investors flee the country, with their money Russian currency collapses due to hyperinflation Russian government defaulted on its debt Created a symbol in the Russian peoples minds that the reform period had failed. This created an opening for Putin to glide into power.
Democratization
Isn't about getting actual dem., but about getting Gorb. to gain legitimacy to allow Gorb. to do what he wanted. Congress of people's deputies partly elected, legalization of multi-party politics because Bolsheviks outlawed all other parties years ago. Democratization within USSR republics=wanted to allow for meaningful federalism,
Andropov reform
Leader of KGB, which had more info than any other part of Govt. Crack down on alcoholism and on getting people to work better, was not intending to dismantle the system; the maximum he was prepared to consider was that a new type of person should be able to rule the country; liberalization reforms. Promoted Gorby to Sec. of agriculture. inclined to more gradual and constructive reform than was Gorbachev.
Sources of Putin's Control
Media Co-opting governors, United Russia, opponents Legitimacy- prosperity, order and stability, Russian strength, public support/man of the people Repression- harass opponents, attacks on journalists
Neo-authoritarian media
Media that is significantly freer today than during the Soviet Union time period, although not as free as during the Gorbachev era
Privatization winners
Nomenklatura were winners because they were already political insiders- they had connections, many were heads of factories and firms. They were more educated than the average Russian and thus had more knowledge, information, and know-how when it came to economic savvy "Gray-market" entrepreneurs were also winners. These are people who had illegally been supplying and selling goods and services, because of this they: understood supply and demand capitalism Demonstrated willingness and know-how to go outside the rules Had skills to organize groups, pool resources, use intimidation and bribes, especially with the 10,000 ruble vouchers The two winners, former Nomenklatura and "gray-market" entrepreneurs, are now the super-rich oligarchs. They use their wealth to Buy access to politics Run for legislature Take control of media Control political trends and ebbs and flows through their media Results: Russians skeptical of capitalism, & significant capital flight out of Russia
Liberal Democrats
Not actually liberal or democrats, but anti-marxist slavophile, strong nationalist party (39 Seats)
Perestroika failure
Party opposition, even from Gorby's closest allies; combined command economy with capitalism that took away central control, but were not ambitious enough to make lasting change; there was a 500 day plan to change to capitalism, but Gorby thought it would be too much.
Glasnost, results
People found out how bad Stalin was and were disenchanted with the USSR; media freedom allows people to be individuals again undermined authority of communist party i.e. people did not want reform, but to get rid of the party; info that was released could not be put back; opposition had a platform in the news.
Glasnost ("openness," "voiceness")
Policies opening up the goings-on of the government, giving more voice to the common people, getting input from the bottom up, allowing for more freedom of speech and media Laws passed guaranteeing freedom of religion, conscience, press Dissidents allowed to talk publicly and publish, persecution reduced (Sakharov released from house arrest) Reduced censorship- some media freedom, media went after Stalin Result: People were instilled with a feeling of unleashed freedom, and the legitimacy of the communist party was undermined through people being allowed to research and share their stories through media.
1st/2nd Secretaries
Politburo puts in Kazak as 1st sec. and a Russian as 2nd secretary -->Lots of Politburo members just followed orders from Russia Kazak: Politburo--> • 1st Secretary • 2nd Secretary This system allowed for some cultural and ethnic freedoms and showed people that the USSR was behind them USSR tried to convince these people that they were Soviets, not of their ethnic identity every SSR was led by a politburo and a general secretary; appointed local ethnicities to be 1st secretary, but Russian appointees as second sec. to look after ethnic leaders
government responsibilities
President=oversees and in charge of National Guard and Security Council, also contributes to the cabinet (composed of PM different areas of govt. such as defense + econ.); legislature=has some influence in cabinet; since 2004 Russian pres. nominates governors; gives pres power over 1/2 of Federation Council
Price liberalization, results
Prices went up, period of inflation of 2600% in 1992 and 900% in 1993; Russia's priceswent up x3000; demolishes savings; the people were hurt most
Shock Therapy (1992-1993)
Privatization Price liberalization=state stops setting over 90% of products; overnight abandoning price control; Changing from a command economy to a market economy overnight
Putin's economic policy
Pro-market Join WTO Tax reform Privatization of land In 2001 ~10% of land was privatized Promised to protect private property, but later backtracked
Governors appointed
Putin directed the 2004 reform that gave the president the power to appoint governors.
Putin reversals, meaning?
Putin was cracking down on oligarchs (Lavell) statism explanation
United Russia
Putin's party--worked on it extensively when he was no longer President so he could prime it to support him later (343/450 Seats)=means they can amend constitution @ will + can have 2/3 majority Consolidation of A just Russia and the liberal democrats around United Russia
Regime Consolidation
Rather than having a focus on democracy, this was Putin's way of solidifying governmental authority by consolidating his regime; moving power from person to office; from personal to institutionalized; Regime=govt., political institutions, state;
Gorbachev Selection
Rose up through the communist party; selected by Andropov for a promotion to Sec. of Agriculture; elected by Politburo later on to be President
Putin Popularity
Russ. culture: they distrust freedom because, when they had it, it was not good. So, they don't mind what Putin is doing (hierarchy of needs=stability over democracy, which is a luxury). By being authoritarian, Putin is doing what people want. Signs of weakness=economy
Collective Security Treaty Organization
Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan (a list of Russia's best allies), Russian military dominance
Russian SSR Institutions
Russian System is most unique because there was no separate Russian communist party, Politburo, etc. And Russia has very weak institutions, but Russians are represented by Soviet institutions. --This is because Soviets feared that the Russians were a threat.
Russkii vs. Rossiiskii/Rossiianin
Russkii: the adjective Russian as in an ethnically Russian person, product, thing Rossiiskii/Rossiianin: somebody living in Russia who is not ethnically Russian
Privatization methods
Selling the firm to its managers and workers Public auctions, selling off firms; Everyone got 10,000 ruble vouchers; Loans for shares
New Thinking (FP), Results
Soviet Union gave up on arms race; pulled out of Afghanistan after one last major push; Most consequential outcome: E. Europe=USSR repeatedly put down revolutions and used tanks to keep communism in these countries. However, Gorbachev decided to stop using force. Unintended effect: more pressure for other parts of USSR to break off (Lith., Lat., Est.)
superpresidentialism
Strengths: strong leader; what Russians want; avoids bureaucratic gridlock (dynamic leader can push for change); less conflict; Representing national interest because because no party stuff to deal with Risks: weak parties; weak leader means very weak rule; decision-making=too narrow + the people may become disinterested as a result; govt. becomes very personalist; weak state institutions.
GOSPLAN
The State Planning Committee, commonly known as Gosplan was the agency responsible for central economic planning in the Soviet Union. Established in 1921 and remaining in existence until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Gosplan had as its main task the creation and administration of a series of five-year plans governing the economy of the USSR.
Privatization results
Transfer of assets successful, but it didn't work out very well for the average Russian. It was extremely successful for the former-nomenklatura members, who were able to do a lot of "insider trading" to take advantage of the rapid privatization. Other winners included "gray" market entrepreneurs, who had already taken advantage of the weakened USSR law enforcement to go outside the rules. Together, these two groups are known as the "Oligarchs" or the super-rich
Abkhazia, South Ossetia
Two regions of Georgia that are recognized by Russia as independent from Georgia. South Ossetia is where the war in 2008 started.
Oligarchs
Used wealth and influence to access politics Ran for the legislature in order to gain immunity from law Gained control of media outlets
Power of legislature
Weak legislature, but actually has power now, not just a rubber stamp; 2 key powers: passing leguslation + can dismiss PM + govt.; Federal Council (FC): confirming use of military/martial law/court appointees
Eurasianists, westernizers
Westernizers want cooperation with the west, joining western institutions like NATO, western norms, Russia is the easternmost part of Europe Eurasianists want to own the near abroad, independent of West, Russian greatness, weaker ties to west, bridge for Europe and Asia, divine destiny Two Kinds of Eurasianists: Balancers and Normalizers
Yeltsin-Gaidar
Yeltsin surrounded himself with reformers, Gaidar being one of them Gaidar as acting Prime Minister, Gaidar and Chubais both reformers bring Shock-therapy to pass
December 1993 Constitution
Yeltsin wins and makes the presidency super: Presidency appoints PM/Cabinet o Power to dissolve legislature and put new people in o Referendum o Decrees o Veto Power over all laws
Citizenship Law
Yeltsin's law that gave everyone citizenship if they lived in the Soviet block. He pushed for dual citizenship for Russian abroad
siloviki
a Russian word for politicians from the security or military services, often the officers of the former KGB, GRU, FSB, SVR, the Federal Drug Control or other security services who came into power. It can also refer to security-service personnel from any country or nationality where the more general term securocrat is used.
presidential powers (after constitution)
appoint PM, cabinet, veto power (over laws by legislature); dismiss PM; dissolve Duma (new elections); Security Council=inner cabinet--foreign defense intelligence ministers; influence on regions (89) + appoints representatives there; referenda; decrees; commander in chief; two consecutive terms (was 4 years, now 6 years)
Great power balancing (what Russia is today according to Cooper)
balancing against US & EU Russian uniqueness willingness to isolate Russia Putin post 2014 annexed Crimea and invaded Ukraine, severe break with the west
Republics, regions, autonomous districts
component parts of federation council; Republic--ethnic units; regions--represent ethnic groups, small enough because they are part of another region or republic, 22 republics most privileged units that provide representation for ethnic groups Only units that can have their own presidents, parliaments, constitutions Have a total population of about 21 million (although not everyone living there are part of the dominant ethnic group) Largest are Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Chechnya, and Crimea 58 regions Territorial units No independent system 6/7th of Russia's population lives in these regions 5 autonomous districts Like republics, they represent ethnic groups Ambiguous legal status, since they send 2 representatives to the Federation council, but they answer to their region.
Yeltsin path to power
construction engineer; local party leader; caught attention of Gorby + then became Moscow party leader; then Politburo; Became very critical of absence of reform; caused him to be ousted by Gorby 1987; exiled from Politburo and made minister of construction; 1987-1991= Gets elected to head of Soviet congress ('89); moves on to supreme soviet (highest leg.); reinvented through democratization + popular votes; then elected to Russian Congress as Speaker 1990; 1991 Russian presidency--Yeltsin fully elected to executive branch + then resists coup; Dec. '91=forms CIS, making Russia independent.
Near abroad
countries where the US and EU have more influence than Russia: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania countries where the US and EU have equal influence with Russia: Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova countries where Russia has more influence than the US and EU: Belarus, Armenia, Central Asian countries like Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
Congress of People's Deputies
created as part of Mikhail Gorbachev's reform agenda, and was enabled by Gorbachev's first constitutional change; The Congress consisted of 2,250 deputies elected in three different ways: 750 deputies were elected according to the system used in Soviet of the Union elections in the 1936-1989 period. 750 deputies were elected according to the system used in Soviet of Nationalities elections in the 1936-1989 period. 750 deputies representing "public organizations", such as the Communist Party, Komsomol and the trade unions. The election law would allocate a fixed number of seats to organizations - for example, 100 to the Communist Party and 100 to Komsomol - and the organizations would appoint deputies to those seats.
Great power normalization (what Russia was in 2005 according to Tsygankov)
great power club economic integration threat: falling behind West dominate the near abroad economically through soft power
managed democracy
guided democracy for normalization; stability; reduce # of parties; Putin is in charge but allows democracy to an extent Increased the election threshold from 5% to 7% Increased the number of required members to form a party to 10,000 Gave administrative support for United Russia, and made sure that the state-controlled media gave more coverage as well as pressuring government workers to support the party Pushed unofficial limits on opposition parties Ordered the arrests of opposition leaders, stuffed the ballot box
executive staff
large ______________ staff around the president; 5-10,000 people, compared to 3-4,000 in the U.S. hired + fired @ will be presidency; 4th branch of government; policy advisors, care of pres.; property management dept.=allows construction project + opportunities to buy/sell (more corruption + oligarchy) bodyguard service (+ care of the president)
competitive authoritarianism
legitimacy through competitive elections + thru opposition parties; some limited opposition media allowed; some independence for judiciary; Cheaper and less risky than repression; not a democracy per se, so it must be labeled as competitive authoritarianism
Issue-oriented parties
most issue-oriented + disciplined party = communist party strongest (1 of 4 parties) grassroots party in Russ.; opposition to privatization and econ. reform; want state control of the economy; strong/assertive + want great Russia. More common in Europe to have issue-oriented party w/ strong discipline.
personalistic parties
no real platform other than to get a certain person elected, TRANSIENT (lasting only for a short time; impermanent)
Reasons for CIS
o Set up as a federation of independent states o Created Dec. 1991 by Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia o Then all former Soviet states, except Baltics, join in this federation o A lot like American articles of federation, but weaker o Desire for economic integration; all trade ties with ea. Other, so important that they work together. ♣ Widget/specialized factories separated from one another in break of Soviet Union, so people only have parts of things (e.g. tires in Kazakhstan) o Continues to this day, but is more of a loose economic group
party of power/regime party
parties established by the President to support the president; limited ideology; not the same as a ruling party (party that controls govt.)
Security Council
policymaking body; powerful; in exec. branch; focus on external + internal security; can issue decrees + can order cabinet to do things; pres. pres=chair of security council; usually a secretary to run SC instead of pres.; President chooses everyone in Security Council.
Statism
statism is the belief that the state should control either economic or social policy, or both, to some degree; Putin ideology that parts of econ. driven by the state
Democratic centralism
the Leninist organizational system in which policy is decided centrally and is binding on all members.
Samizdat
the clandestine copying and distribution of literature banned by the state, especially formerly in the communist countries of eastern Europe.
Super-presidency
the president and his administration (the 'apparat') control political decision-making while the parliament and courts are only nominally independent
