This book provides a comprehensive and systematic overview of Putin’s third term as Russia’s president. It covers political, international relations, economic and social issues, and provides a balanced assessment of Putin’s successes and failures. These include the conflict in Ukraine, the annexation of Crimea, scandals associated with the Olympics, Russia’s increasing involvement with Asia, including with the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, and shifts in the economy away from huge reliance on energy resources. The book sets Putin’s activities as president in their wider context, discussing his overall popularity, the weakness of potential opposition and the development of the Russian Federation as a relatively new state.

This book explores a new character archetype that permeated Soviet film during what became known as the era of Stagnation, a stark period of loneliness, disappointment, and individual despair. This new type of character was neither negative nor positive, but nevertheless systematically undermined Soviet norms of behaviour, hairstyle, dress, lifestyle, and perspective, in stark contrast to Socialist Realism’s traditional, positive hero who fought for Soviet values and who vanquished the enemies of socialism. The book discusses a wide range of films from the period, showing how the new antiheroic archetype of Stagnation resonated through a multitude of characters, mostly male, and vividly reflected the realities of Soviet life. The book thereby provides great insight into the lives, outlook, and psychology of citizens in the late Soviet period.

The new world order as it stood after the apparent end of the Cold War and the collapse of the USSR was greeted with enthusiasm and optimism almost everywhere, but especially in the West. Less than a quarter century later that optimism has faded dramatically, with the rise of populism, nationalism, religious extremism and civil discord disrupting political and social norms around the world. This book reveals the extent to which events that began as internal political crises in Europe, the Middle East and the USA have sent ripple effects reaching into all points of the globe. The projection of liberal democratic predominance in the 1990s, has faded as illiberal governance gains support worldwide. Long-standing international trade patterns are disrupted, perhaps permanently, by the weaponization of economic sanctions, real and perceived threats of terrorism raise levels of anxiety everywhere, and severe new weather patterns inflict floods, fires, drought and hurricanes on populations unused to such extremes. This book describes and analyses many of these phenomena in the hope that better understanding of them may help ameliorate their consequences.

In March 2000 Vladimir Putin was elected President of the Russian Federation, the largest country in the world. In the space of just a few years Putin's radical reforms in the areas of domestic and foreign policy have made a major impact on Russian politics and society and we have witnessed a new orientation in Russia's external relations with the West. But is Putin an authoritarian or a democrat? Does his presidency signal a break with Russia's past or is he just another autocratic czar in modern clothing? This is a lively, comprehensive, and highly accessible account of contemporary Russian politics. There are fifteen chapters covering such key areas as: leadership and regime change, political parties and democratization, economy and society, regional politics, the war in Chechnya, and Russian foreign policy.

Despite Soviet Russia having been one of the first major powers to decriminalise homosexual acts between men, attitudes towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in contemporary Russia and the other post-Soviet states have become increasingly hostile, with the introduction of laws restricting their rights and an increase in homophobic violence. This book explores how this situation has come about. It discusses how meanings attached to non-heteronormative sexualities have been constructed for specific socio-political purposes by elites in line with Marxist-Leninist or nationalist thought, explores how attitudes to non-normative sexualities developed historically and examines the current situation in the post-Soviet space, including Russia, Transcaucasia, Central Asia and the Baltic States. The book provides a wealth of detail on this understudied subject and assesses how LGBT subjects are responding to this state of affairs.

This book presents a comprehensive survey of the current state of Russia and how Russia is likely to develop in the immediate future. Not always sticking to the mainstream narrative, it covers political events including Putin’s constitutional reforms of January 2020 and their likely consequences, economic developments, Russia’s international relations and military activities, and changes and issues in Russian society, including in education, the place of women, health care and religion. Special attention is paid to manifestations of the COVID-19 pandemic. The book’s overall conclusion is that events of 2020 may compel Putin to ‘think again’ before he decides whether to run for office in 2024.

Who is this Vladimir Putin? Who is this man who suddenly--overnight and without warning--was handed the reigns of power to one of the most complex, formidable, and volatile countries in the world? How can we trust him if we don't know him? First Person is an intimate, candid portrait of the man who holds the future of Russia in his grip. An extraordinary compilation of over 24 hours of in-depth interviews and remarkable photographs, it delves deep into Putin's KGB past and explores his meteoric rise to power. No Russian leader has ever subjected himself to this kind of public examination of his life and views. Both as a spy and as a virtual political unknown until selected by Boris Yeltsin to be Prime Minister, Putin has been regarded as man of mystery. Now, the curtain lifts to reveal a remarkable life of struggles and successes. Putin's life story is of major importance to the world.

Russian influence in Central Asia is waning. Since attaining independence, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan have forged their own paths—building relationships with outside powers and throwing off the last vestiges of Soviet domination. But in many ways, Moscow still sees Central Asia through the lens of the Soviet Union, and it struggles to redefine Russian relations with the region. In The Fight for Influence, Alexey Malashenko offers a comprehensive analysis of Russian policies and prospects in Central Asia. It is clear that Russian policy in the formerly Soviet-controlled region is entering uncharted territory. But does Moscow understand the fundamental shifts under way? Malashenko argues that it is time for Russia to rethink its approach to Central Asia. Contents 1. Wasted Opportunities 2. Regional Instruments of Influence 3. Russia and Islam in Central Asia: Problems of Migration 4. Kazakhstan and Its Neighborhood 5. Kyrgyzstan—The Exception 6. Tajikistan: Authoritarian, Fragile, and Facing Difficult Challenges 7. Turkmenistan: No Longer Exotic, But Still Authoritarian 8. Uzbekistan: Is There a Potential for Change? Conclusion Who Challenges Russia in Central Asia?

The end of the Soviet system and the transition to the market in Russia, coupled with the inexorable rise of nationalism, brought to the fore the centuries-old debate about Russia's relationship with Europe. In this revised and updated second edition of Russia and the Idea of Europe, Iver Neumann discusses whether the tensions between self-referencing nationalist views and Europe-orientated liberal views can ever be resolved. Drawing on a wide range of Russian sources, this book retains the broad historical focus of the previous edition and picks up from where the it off in the early 1990s, bringing the discussion fully up to date. Discussing theoretical and political developments, it relates the existing story of Russian identity formation to new foreign policy analysis and the developments in the study of nationalism. The book also offers an additional focus on post-Cold War developments. In particular it examines the year 2000, when Putin succeeded Yeltsin as president, and 2014, when Russian foreign policy turned from cooperation to confrontation. Bringing to life the various debates surrounding this complicated relationship in an accessible and clear manner, this book continues to be a unique and vital resource for both students and scholars of international relations.

Led by the seemingly indomitable Vladimir Putin, Russia has strongly reasserted itself on the international stage. In the worldview of Putin and the Kremlin, the inevitable decline of the West and rise of the rest provides an opportunity for Russia to fulfill its mission as an independent center of global power. What are the origins of this increasingly aggressive stance? What are the geopolitical ramifications? And what will be the likely outcomes? In this timely and accessible work, former diplomat and renowned Russia analyst Bobo Lo examines the interplay between contemporary Russian foreign policy and a global environment that has rarely been more fluid and uncertain. Russia and the New World Disorder delves into Russian policy and geopolitics via three questions: • How do Russia's domestic politics and external operating environment influence the Kremlin's foreign policy? • How have policymakers in Moscow responded to that environment, and with what ramifications? • What are the prospects for change, continuity, or regression in Russian foreign policy over the next decade and beyond? Lo argues that Moscow's approach to regional and global affairs reflects the tension between two very different worlds. The Kremlin's belief in a weakened West and resurgent Russia is based on the reaffirmation of traditional principles of international politics: collective leadership by the major powers, the dominance of hard power, and the existence of spheres of influence. This idealized view, however, is the antithesis of the actual world that Russia faces today. It is defined by a new disorder that challenges many core assumptions. Its principal message is that only those states that embrace change will prosper. In this world, Russia is no longer able to rest on tradition and a sense of entitlement but must instead adapt to fluid international realities and redefine itself as a modern power. Which of these two diametrically opposed worlds will Russia ultimately choose? This book makes clear that the next ten to fifteen years will be critical in determining whether Russia plays a leading role in twenty-first-century politics, or ends up as one of the principal casualties of global transformation. Copublished with Chatham House