Although the disintegration of the Soviet Union marked the end of a 70-year experiment to achieve modernization and industrial development outside the framework of the capitalist world system, the Russian Federation is still struggling with the restructuring of internal political and economic power, as well as with the question of Russia's place in the world and its relationship to the western system. Indeed, Russia is currently in the midst of another enormous experiment in political, economic and cultural transformation, processes from which we can learn much about democracy, capitalism and markets, and the relationship between culture and politics. In the first few weeks of the course we trace the development of Russian politics from Tsarist times through the Soviet period, Mikhail Gorbachev and perestroika, and the new Russian state under Boris Yeltsin, looking at the internal conflicts and external forces that shaped the Soviet and Russian experiences. In the rest of the course we use the changes currently taking place in Russia as a prism through which to look at broader questions of the concepts of democracy, capitalism and markets. The course reader can be purchased in the Politics Dept. office at 309 Muller Center, cash or check made out to Ithaca College.
Some readings are also on web sites , indicated on the syllabus.
Click on the relevant links. Another place to look for web links on topics related to Russia is IREX's Internet Resources in the Former Soviet Union . Other Russia-related web sites can be reached here . This new production speaks about the life of the family of a Khanty shaman under the deadly pressure of West Siberian oil industry. Prisoner of the Mountains , by Russian filmaker Sergei Bodrov, on the war in Chechnya.