Russian Politics: A Very Short Introduction

by Brian D. Taylor

Russia is rarely out of the news. This has been particularly true since it launched the largest war in Europe since World War II when it invaded Ukraine in 2022. Yet Russian politics can be difficult to understand. It is powerfully shaped by large, impersonal forces such as geography, and Russia's place in the international political and economic system. At the same time, Russia's formal political institutions, such as the Constitution and electoral procedures, are relatively weak and manipulable compared to those of stable, established democracies. Under these circumstances, powerful leaders such as Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, and Vladimir Putin represent a source of potential dynamism and change.

This Very Short Introduction provides a guide to understanding Russian Politics that goes beyond the headlines, offering a vivid account of the key forces driving Russian politics. It places Russia in a global context while explaining its internal political development. Several major themes run through the book, including the primacy of the state over society, the role of the so-called "West," which has represented a source of inspiration, of threat, and of competition for generations of Russians, and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The Soviet collapse brought about dramatic change across multiple spheres, from the nature of the political and economic system to the country's borders and who counted as a citizen. To this day, Russia is still working its way through the consequences of these transformations.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Russia

1 pages, Audio CD

Published March 25, 2025

Reviews

[Elliot J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

In just 119 pages (paperback) Prof. Taylor educates you in what any concerned American should and needs to know about the politics of Russia, past and present and of vital importance what we all need to know about what the future probably holds. This is an excellently written book, concise and yet thorough and very well written. It goes into the nature of Russian society from its inception and how the governance of Russia, the overwhelming nature of the primacy of the state throughout time and the relationship of the state to people and their reaction, defines not just how Russia is but how RUSSIANS think. It is a book of extraordinary relevance to all readers who know something but not too much about Russia but want to and should know more...for our own country's sake. Prof. Taylor has written this book following his lengthier THE CODE OF PUTINISM superbly deals with Putin in every respect and especially what we will continue to have to contend with in him and the "soloviki" apparatus of top aides and clan-like supporters. It is and will continue to be, for the west, dangerous and fraught with conflict and this book will convey in a modest number of pages the information about Russian Politics that you should know. Read it! It's that good.

[Declan McGurk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good introduction and had interesting historical information. Definitely a good amount of bias towards Western European countries.