Post Soviet Russia. Getting Right its Politics, Identity and Culture 2100-MON-PSRU-OG

Topics:
Session 1
1) The Organisational class

2) The Imperial Russia: the genesis, the fall and the resurrection
The readings:
Iver B. Neumann, Russia as a great power 1815-2017, Journal of International Relations and Development 2008, vol. 11, pp. 128-151.
Optional: Dominic Lieven, ‘Russian, Imperial and Soviet Identities’, Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 1998, Vol. 8, pp. 253-269.
Iver B. Neumann, Einar Wigen, The Steppe Tradition in International Relations. Russians, Turks and European State-Building 4000 bce–2018 ce, Cambridge University Press 2018, pp. 163-198.
The text of culture:
1) the paintings of Vassily Vereshchagin (1842-1904)
2) the film “White Sun of the Desert” by Vladimir Motyl, (1970)

Session 2
3) The End of the USSR: why did it fall apart and what came after
The readings:
Stephen E. Hanson & Jeffrey S. Kopstein, ‘The Weimar/Russia Comparison’, Post-Soviet Affairs, 1997, 13:3, 252-283.
Optional: Vladislav Zubkov, Collapse: The Fall of the Soviet Union, Yale University Press 2021.
The text of culture:
1) the film “Shirli Mirli” by Vladimir Menshov (1995)

4) What went wrong: the critical junctures in politics of the Russian Federation (1991-2022)
The readings:
V. Gelman, The Politics of Bad Governance in Russia, University of Michigan Press 2022, pp. 53-70.
The text of culture:
1) the film “The Tsar” by Pavel Lungin (2009)/ the film “the Humorist” by Michael Idov, (2019)
2) The selected songs of the rock band Leningrad

Session 3
5) The Evolution of identity narratives in post Soviet Russia. From “an ordinary European great power” to a “distinct civilization”.
The readings:
Liah Greenfeld, ‘The Formation of the Russian National Identity: The Role of Status Insecurity and Ressentiment’, Comparative Studies in Society and History , 1990, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 549-591.
Optional: Iver B. Neumann, Entry into international society reconceptualised: the case of Russia, Review of International Studies, April 2011, Vol. 37, No. 2 (April 2011), pp. 463-484.
The text of culture:
1) the film “Brat vol. 2” by Aleksei Balabanov (2000)
2) The paintings of Ilya Glazunov (1930-2017)

6) The Past will save the Future. Memory politics in Putin’s Russia.
The readings:
Maria Domańska, Jadwiga Rogoża, Forward, into the Past! Russia’s politics of memory in the service of ‘eternal’ authoritarianism, OSW Report, 22 November 2021.
The text of culture:
1) the film “Alexander Nevsky” by Sergei Eisenstein (1938)/ the Kolovrat by Dzhanik Faiziyev and Ivan Shurkhovetskiy (2019)
2) the selected songs of the band ShortParis

Session 4
7) Yet another imperial turn: Ukraine, the “near abroad”, the West and beyond
The Reading:
Iver B. Neumann, “Russia’s Europe, 1991–2016: inferiority to superiority”, International Affairs 2016, vol. 92, no. 6, pp. 1381-1399.
The text of culture:
Alexander Blok, ”Skify”, available as: https://allpoetry.com/the-scythians

8) Russia’s place in the world: still a great power?
The Reading:
Elias Götz and Camille-Renaud Merlen, “Russia and the Question of world order”, European Politics and Society 2019, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 133-153.
The text of culture:
Karl Ove Knausgaard, “A Literary Road Trip Into the Heart of Russia”, New York Times Magazine, 14 February 2018, available as https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/14/magazine/a-literary-road-trip-into-the-heart-of-russia.html.

Session 5
9) Discussing students’ presentations of the text of culture
10) Discussing students’ presentations of the text of culture

Prerequisites (description)

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 took most experts by surprise. Hearing Vladimir Putin justify the aggression against a sovereign, neighboring country by the need to regain historic territories and reestablish the unity of a Russian-Ukrainian nation raised old questions about whether Russia, in its development, is so heavily determined by its past and particular traditions that it cannot escape an imperialist, expansionist policy. It seems that since the fall of the USSR, Russia has once again come full circle in its relations with the West: starting with the ambition to emulate Western solutions, including democracy, then emphasizing its own original path of development, and ultimately ending up in full antagonism. However, embracing the assumption that Russia is ever hostile to the West helps little in understanding it or devising effective policies. The goal of the lecture is to highlight crucial developments in post-Soviet Russia and use this retrospective view to address the difficult questions brought to the forefront by the invasion. The course aims to discuss post-Soviet Russia’s politics in connection with Russian identity and its various expressions in Russian culture. It offers a comprehensive overview of the changes the Russian Federation has undergone since 1991 while also placing them in a historical perspective. The course consists of four thematic sections. The first section provides a historic overview of Russian statehood, emphasizing the significance of establishing the empire. The second section focuses on internal developments after 1991, dedicated to the rough beginnings and gradual erosion of the democratization process initiated by Gorbachev’s perestroika. This section demonstrates the formation of the current political regime, referred to by some as Putinism. The third section draws attention to the role of ideas, identity, and ideology that drive today's Russian actions. The fourth section addresses Russia’s foreign policy, its relations with the West, and the ongoing war in Ukraine. This course is designed for students interested in Russian politics and culture, aiming to obtain an in-depth understanding of Russia and its role in European affairs. Prior knowledge of Russian history, culture, and politics is welcomed but not a formal requirement to participate. Students are expected to come prepared to discuss the required readings. A pdf of all readings will be provided to course participants.

Course coordinators

Alicja Curanović

Type of course

general courses

Mode

Classroom

Learning outcomes

Students primarily learn about post-Soviet Russia, yet the developments since the fall of the USSR are discussed with references to Russian history. It's noteworthy that, in addition to academic readings, students will receive training in using cultural texts as valuable sources for a deeper understanding of politics. This training fosters their ability to interpret and critically analyze data, enabling them to form their own opinions about ongoing processes and cultivate a critical understanding of Russian politics. Moreover, they enhance their debating skills and learn creative methods for presenting their work.
K_W02
K_W04
K_W05
K_U02
K_U03
K_U04
K_U07

Assessment criteria

The fundamental requirement for receiving a graded pass is attendance during classes. A student is permitted one absence, exclusively during weeks when they are not scheduled to deliver a presentation.

Throughout the course, students are expected to:
- Engage actively in class, encompassing compulsory readings, asking questions, making comments, and participating in discussions.
- Present a Russian cultural text during the final session. Each student must select a Russian text of culture (such as a film, book, painting, poster, song, comic book, joke, etc.) that, in their opinion, provides insight into understanding Russia and its politics. Each presentation should be a maximum of 7 minutes, wherein the student briefly introduces their chosen cultural text and elucidates the rationale behind their selection.

Bibliography

Literature:
Domańska, Maria, Rogoża, Jadwiga. Forward, into the Past! Russia’s politics of memory in the service of ‘eternal’ authoritarianism, OSW Report, 22 November 2021.
Gelman, Vladimir. The Politics of Bad Governance in Russia, University of Michigan Press 2022, pp. 53-70.
Götz Elias, Merlen, Camille-Renaud. “Russia and the Question of world order”, European Politics and Society 2019, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 133-153.
Greenfeld, Liah. ‘The Formation of the Russian National Identity: The Role of Status Insecurity and Ressentiment’, Comparative Studies in Society and History , 1990, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 549-591.
Hanson Stephen E., Kopstein, Jeffrey S., ‘The Weimar/Russia Comparison’, Post-Soviet Affairs, 1997.
Neumann, Iver B. Entry into international society reconceptualised: the case of Russia, Review of International Studies, April 2011, Vol. 37, No. 2 (April 2011), pp. 463-484.
Neumann, Iver B. “Russia’s Europe, 1991–2016: inferiority to superiority”, International Affairs 2016, vol. 92, no. 6, pp. 1381-1399.
Neumann, Iver B. Russia as a great power 1815-2017, Journal of International Relations and Development 2008, vol. 11, pp. 128-151.
Neumann, Iver B. Wigen, Einar, The Steppe Tradition in International Relations. Russians, Turks and European State-Building 4000 bce–2018 ce, Cambridge University Press 2018, pp. 163-198.
Lieven, Dominic. Russian, Imperial and Soviet Identities’, Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 1998, Vol. 8, pp. 253-269.
Zubkov, Vladislav. Collapse: The Fall of the Soviet Union, Yale University Press 2021.

Texts of culture:
Alexander Blok, ”Skify”, available as: https://allpoetry.com/the-scythians
Karl Ove Knausgaard, “A Literary Road Trip Into the Heart of Russia”, New York Times Magazine, 14 February 2018, available as https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/14/magazine/a-literary-road-trip-into-the-heart-of-russia.html.
the selected paintings of Ilya Glazunov (1930-2017)
the paintings of Vassily Vereshchagin (1842-1904)
the selected songs of the rock band Leningrad
the selected songs of the band ShortParis
the film “Alexander Nevsky” by Sergei Eisenstein (1938)
the film “Kolovrat” by Dzhanik Faiziyev and Ivan Shurkhovetskiy (2019)
the film “Brat vol. 2” by Aleksei Balabanov (2000)
the film “The Tsar” by Pavel Lungin (2009)
the film “the Humorist” by Michael Idov, (2019)
the film “Shirli Mirli” by Vladimir Menshov (1995)
the film “White Sun of the Desert” by Vladimir Motyl, (1970)

Additional information

Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 2100-MON-PSRU-OG in USOSweb