Russia Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, 2012 Listen Listen Russia The world’s largest country, the Russian Federation covers more than 17 million square kilometers, over 10 percent of planet Earth’s total land mass, stretching from eastern Europe across the Asian continent to the Pacific Ocean. Its population, roughly half that of the United States, represents more than one hundred ethnic groups, but 80 percent consider themselves ethnically Russian. The majority of Russians live in the European region, over 70 percent in urban areas such as Moscow and St. Petersburg. Russia’s oil and natural gas reserves, third largest in the world, are its most vital natural resources. From the Tsars to the Soviets The Russian nation grew out of the principality of Muscovy, which emerged in the fifteenth century from two hundred years of domination by the Mongols. In the centuries that followed, Russia’s tsars (a word deriving from the Russian translation for Caesar) acquired eastern territories including the vast steppes and boreal forests of Siberia, at the same time developing Russia into a European power. Russia’s epic victory in 1812 over the invading French army led by Napoleon Bonaparte was a pivotal event in European history and the basis for one of the most celebrated works of world literature, Leo Tolstoy’s novel War and Peace. Imperial rule collapsed early in the twentieth century. Amid a revolutionary uprising in 1905, Tsar Nicholas II (1868–1918) agreed to create a constitutional monarchy and a legislative body, the Duma. Further revolts in 1917, in the wake of Russia’s immense losses in World War I, drove Nicholas from the throne as the communist Bolsheviks took power in the world’s first successful Marxist revolution. The communists withstood a civil war against domestic opponents backed by Great Britain, France, and the United States. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was established in 1922, uniting Russia with the Ukraine, Byelorussia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. After Joseph Stalin (1878–1953) consolidated power in the mid-1920s, he led the Soviet Union into a rapid industrialization program and a radical restructuring of the agricultural sector that resulted in the deaths of millions from famine. The Soviet contribution to the Allied victory in World War II cost the nation more than twenty million lives. Nevertheless, in the postwar period Soviet power reached its peak: Communist satellite regimes in central and eastern Europe enlarged the sphere of Soviet influence and the USSR accumulated a huge nuclear arsenal in its Cold War against rival superpower the United States. In the 1980s, the Soviet military was weakened by its lengthy, ill-fated occupation of Afghanistan, and the political reforms initiated by the youthful leader Mikhail Gorbachev (1931–) ignited a swelling movement seeking freedoms of expression and association, precipitating the Cold War’s end. In 1989, authoritarian communist governments fell in Poland, Romania, and Czechoslovakia, and the breaching of the Berlin Wall presaged the reunification of East and West Germany. Soon the Soviet Union’s constituent republics were making moves toward secession. Russia elected a Congress of People’s Deputies in 1990 and declared its sovereignty. In the struggle that ensued, this new body and its chairman, Boris Yeltsin (1931–2007), prevailed, eventually assuming control of much of the Soviet state apparatus. Yeltsin was elected president of the Russian Federation in 1991 and held office as the Soviet Union was formally dissolved that December. The Putin Era Under Yeltsin’s leadership, Russia underwent a massive shift from communist rule to a liberal capitalist market economy. Russia’s “shock therapy” conversion brought about considerable upheaval: between 1990 and 1995, the nation’s economic output and GDP both shrank in half while the poverty rate rose from under 2 percent to over 40 percent. Corruption was a major problem as organized crime syndicates took over formerly state-owned enterprises and a handful of well-connected, wealthy individuals, often referred to as the oligarchs, rose to positions of power in key industries such as energy and telecommunications. The Russian economy reached its nadir in August 1998, when a sudden collapse in the securities and currency markets forced the government to default on some of its debts and devalue the ruble. However, the nation recovered relatively quickly from the financial crisis, largely on the strength of rising hydrocarbon prices. Oil and gas prices continued to rise throughout the first decade of the twenty-first century and with production levels also increasing, Russia took advantage of its export revenues to stimulate foreign investment, reduce unemployment, and produce nine years of steady economic growth between 1999 and 2008. Vladimir Putin (1952–), who became president upon Yeltsin’s resignation at the end of 1999, presided over most of this period of prosperity. Putin worked for the KGB, the Russian intelligence agency, for sixteen years before entering politics. He proved a remarkably popular figure, handily winning the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. His many supporters credited him with restoring Russia’s prestige and international image through assertive leadership. On the other hand, Putin’s detractors characterized his governing style as autocratic, denouncing his centralization of control over regional governments, alleged rigging of elections, and restrictions on opposition parties, non-governmental organizations, and the news media. Barred from a third consecutive term in office, Putin became prime minister in 2008 following the election of his chosen successor, Dmitry Medvedev (1965–), as president. Foreign and Defense Policy Since the demise of the Soviet Union, Russia has used force numerous times to protect its interests in the Caucasus region. Twice, from 1994 to 1996 and then from 1999 to 2000, it has fought to retain control over the independence-seeking province of Chechnya. The Second Chechen War boosted the popularity of Putin, who rose from the premiership to the presidency during the conflict. Chechnya remained under Russian control while granted nominal autonomy. In October 2002, Chechen rebels took hundreds of hostages in a Moscow theatre; two years later a similar incident took place at a school in the city of Beslan. Both incidents ended in confrontations that left hundreds dead. In August 2008, Russian forces invaded the neighboring republic of Georgia. Fighting occurred in two separatist provinces within Georgia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, both of which were seen as loyal toward Russia. Despite conflicting claims about how the fighting flared up, subsequent independent investigations assigned responsibility to the Georgian side. The end of the Cold War transformed Russia’s relations with its European neighbors. As eastern Europe undertook a transition to democracy and neoliberal capitalism, states that had been members of the Warsaw Pact, the collective security agreement dominated by Moscow, realigned their foreign and defense policies toward the West. The Western security alliance, NATO, which had been created during the Cold War to contain the communist threat, welcomed its former foes into its fold. Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999, followed by Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia in 2004. By 2007, all ten of these nations had also acceded to the European Union (EU). Russian officials objected strenuously to what they perceived as Russia’s encirclement by potentially hostile neighbors. The new geopolitical situation put pressure on Russia to maintain trade and security partnerships with its remaining allies in the region, Ukraine, Belarus, and the Caucasus states Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. Ukraine in particular has been divided over how to balance its traditional loyalties to Russia with the opportunity to integrate into Europe. As was widely expected, Putin announced in September 2011 his intention to seek a third presidential term. Medvedev nominated his predecessor to run in the March 2012 election on behalf of their United Russia party, which Putin chaired. Still a highly popular politician, Putin trounced his opponents on 4 March, winning in the first round with 63 percent of the vote. With presidential terms now extended to six years, Putin could conceivably hold office until 2024. Since the legislative elections in December, however, a series of mass protests has taken place challenging what demonstrators perceive as electoral fraud, corruption, and unfair restrictions on the democratic process. Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2013 Gale, Cengage Learning. Source Citation "Russia." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 12 Sept. 2013. Document URL ic.galegroup/ic/ovic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Reference&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=true&displayGroups=&sortBy=&source=&search_within_results=&action=e&catId=GALE%7CURFIIW453311970&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CPC3010999098&userGroupName=spl_main&jsid=d563bab2cd9bbd9067a1a9bb540bdcf4 Gale Document Number: GALE|PC3010999098 ic.galegroup/ic/ovic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Reference&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=true&displayGroups=&sortBy=&source=&search_within_results=&action=e&catId=GALE%7CURFIIW453311970&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CPC3010999098&userGroupName=spl_main&jsid=d563bab2cd9bbd9067a1a9bb540bdcf4 Tools Bookmark Download Share Citation Tools Email Print Dictionary Translate Save Table of Contents From the Tsars to the Soviets The Putin Era Foreign and Defense Policy Related Subjects Presidents (Government) Prime ministers Putin, Vladimir Russia Russian foreign relations More Russian history Russians Less
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