Understanding Recent Developments in Russia's Political System

Author(s): Robert Orttung
Editor(s): Stephen Aris, Matthias Neumann, Robert Orttung, Jeronim Perovic, Heiko Pleines, Hans-Henning Schröder
Series: Russian Analytical Digest (RAD)
Issue: 77
Pages: 6-9
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich; Research Centre for East European Studies, University of Bremen; Institute of History, University of Basel
Publication Year: 2010

Russia's political institutions have increasingly diverged from democratic standards in recent years. Observing these changes, political scientists have put forward a variety of analytical tools useful for describing Russia's current political system. After briefly summarizing the trends in Russia's recent political development and efforts to interpret them, this article argues that the best way to understand the system is as an authoritarian one defined by the lack of an opposition, difficulties recruiting new leaders, and an increasingly brittle information-gathering process.

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