Реферат: Consolidation Of Democracy In PostSoviet Russia Essay

from the bombing of Grozny at least as much as the native population. The war was connected more with

the struggle for power in Moscow than with either economic or ethnic factors. The Chechnyan campaign

was characterized by Yeltsin employing Soviet-era coercive measures. Paternalism, clientelism, and

military intervention prevailed over legal methods and legal institutions. Lilia Shevtsova considers the

Chechnyan war a byproduct of the Yeltsin regime?s reliance on personal politics. She writes

?Yeltsin saw the war as a chance to flex his muscles…neutralize

the conflicts within his own regime; expand his political base…and

appear before the world…as a strong leader? (Shevtsova 67).

The tragedy in Chechnya not withstanding, and with all due concern towards the dangerous tensions that

exist between Moscow and it various ethnic republics, I agree with Gail Lapidus and Edward Walker that

it is unlikely that we will see a significant secession movement in the Russian Federation in the near

future. Of paramount importance is the economic and political realities facing both Moscow and the

various republics. Secession provides the republics with a myriad of additional stumbling blocks towards

establishment of stable democracy. These include questions of international recognition, Russian

implemented economic pressures, and devastating civil war (Lapidus 108). The costs of leaving the

Federation would appear to outweigh any perceivable benefits gained by secession.

Yet there are serious nationalist and regionalist concerns that the Russian Federation must address if there

is a chance for democracy to take hold. Economic chaos must be avoided by establishing a sound currency

and creating a common economic bond between the center and the periphery (Lapidus 108). There will

be a deeper examination into the economic issues facing the Federation as a whole in the next section, but

note that these concerns are magnified in the peripheral areas that lack developed agricultural and

industrial economies. Issues of more effective regional and ethnic political representation must be

addressed through a movement away from the Soviet system that unfairly distributes economic control and

political power among ethnicities and nationalities (Lapidus 96). Many ethnic minorities lack

administrative recognition for seemingly arbitrary reasons. It would appear that the best antidote for

ethnic and national ills is a healthy economy that would bind the periphery to the center, therefore making

secession an unattractive option. Along with sensible economic reforms, political restructuring is

essential for stable democracy to take hold.

The Road to a Market Economy