Russian Politics
What’s New About Russian Politics?
It’s seriously, dangerously different to Soviet era politics which were, at least, predictable
Just like you, in all probability, I’m no historian, nor am I a political commentator. But I do have views and questions. And I’ve been wondering about the situation in Russia and this piece I’m writing is a distillation of those musings.
Politics is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. — Wikipedia
That’s clear enough. Group decisions.
Not autocracy.
I take a keen interest in Russia because I worked there for a couple of years in the early ‘90s. I like the people and culture, which is layered because of their 20th century experiences and not immediately open to outsiders. And because it is such a huge player in geopolitics.
It’s like a matryoshka doll. I still have one in a cupboard, the outermost being Boris Yeltsin, the man who gave it all to Putin. Stalin is at the core.
Soviet and Russian leadership
Vladimir Putin is the latest in the long line of Soviet/Russian post-World War leaders after Josef Stalin. But he’s different, different even to the those like Gorbachev and Yeltsin who loosened the reins of Soviet society.
He’s more akin to Josef Stalin, but arguably more powerful in many respects as he’s worked his way up through the KGB.
In Russia, anyone who has come into politics from the security, military, or similar services is known as a ‘silovik’. Such is Putin. Only Andropov (1982–1984) before him had risen to power following the KGB route.
Stalin was literally a terrorist and I’m sure that Putin will never pass Stalin’s kill count — unless he goes nuclear.
But although Andropov held the KGB secrets, he operated within the tight framework of the Politburo and Communist Party.
That does not apply in Putin’s case.
Political environment
The political environment in which Putin operates is different. It just isn’t politics (see definition above).
After Stalin, the big change in Soviet political control was surfaced internally and secretly in Soviet Russia by Nikita Kruschev’s Secret Speech in 1956 which repudiated Stalin’s behaviour and the cult of personality.
At a closed session of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Kruschev’s speech was the trigger of a far-reaching de-Stalinization campaign intended to destroy the image of the late dictator as an infallible leader and to rebuild Soviet politics in line with the Leninist template. He really lambasted Stalin’s record.
The Secret Speech effectively laid down the rules and structure which would hold fast in public until 1991 (although corroded and corrupted internally) and prevent the gross abuses of the Stalin era.
Group decisions.
No abusive personality cults.
But there were still abuses.
The speech was a secret state document and was not released to the Russian public for many years, the full printed version being published 1989.
The Duma is not the Politburo
Today, Putin only has the Duma to answer to, a rubber body in many ways — moulded to his design, pliable in the extreme and wielding a rubber stamp under his control. He is Tsar for life, or at least until 2036 when he will be 83. He changed the law to make it so.
Group decisions it ain’t.
When the Politburo (executive committee of the Communist Party) existed during the First Cold War, it comprised many members who had fought in the Second World War, seasoned commanders and shrewd political operators, men who had been smart enough to survive Stalin’s purges. They were the ones who voted to elect the General Secretary of the Communist Party.
But who elected Putin?
The Russian people, in a sham election, with his political opponents nullified.
The oligarchs
What part do these outrageously wealthy people play in Putin’s drama?
He didn’t make them, that’s for sure.
They were a product of the corrupt privatisation of Russian industry during Yeltsin’s years of dissipation at the helm of the Russian ship of state. So Putin inherited them when Yeltsin handed him the helm.
The oligarchs were initially too powerful for Putin to control. He tolerated them, allegedly murdered a few (speculation), but they brought in foreign currency, ran efficient global enterprises in a way that was impossible under the Soviet economic model.
And now by his actions in Ukraine they are disinherited, the bulk of their wealth behind the walls of sanctions.
In March 2022 he laid into them verbally, called them ‘scum to be spat out like midges’.
President Putin said that oligarchs who ‘earn their money here, but live over there,’ will be used as a ‘fifth column’ to divide Russian society — extra.ie
They are already starting to complain.
And die.
They are a group, certainly. Will they make a decision about Russia?
But what comes after Putin?
There are thought to be four leading candidates, including the Defence Minister and the Mayor of Moscow, but I’ll address that elsewhere.
There is much speculation about Putin’s health, and no doubt many countries have analysts trying to form views about who Putin’s successor might be.
It very much depends on how Putin’s reign ends. Naturally, or unnaturally? A natural death would mean that the Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin would step into Putin’s shoes which would fit him well.
Will the remaining oligarchs be kingmakers? Unlikely, because these guys are all about money. Or were.
So who or what comes next?
Another Kruschev? Another Secret Speech?
Who knows? Probably not even Putin himself.
But we do know how history will remember Putin.
In conclusion
What’s new about Russian politics? That was the question.
Well, for a start, it’s not politics is it, as defined, unless you consider three people as the group: Putin, the Defence Minister, Sergei Shiogu, and the Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov (subject to change…)
Putin gives the orders, they follow. Then we have:
- A clear personality cult, fostered and enhanced, the man’s man, hunting, shooting and fishing bare chested, a judo black belt.
- The bare-faced, irrational exercise of dictatorial power untrammelled by wiser minds.
- A succession plan that’s far from clear. Even in Politburo days there was signalling so that there would be no nasty surprises.
- One man clearly responsible for serious damage to the Russian economy, but others (the West) will be blamed.
Further reading
If you like a good thriller, then Tom Rob Smith’s ‘The Secret Speech’ is a gripping ‘whodunnit’. It’s loosely based on events at the time Kruschev delivered it and provides lots of historical context and insight as well as a ripping read (no affiliation).
About me: If you follow me I guarantee variety in your inbox! I write on a wide range of topics including humor, tech and travel, together with daily news events and the minutiae of my daily life living on a boat. I also write techno-thrillers…and about…
…my musings on Russian politics
If you appreciate reading stories like these and want to support other writers and me, consider signing up to become a Medium member. It’s only $5 a month, giving you unlimited access to incredible stories on Medium. If you sign up using my link below, I’ll earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.