ABSTRACT
By far the major player in the post-socialist states is the Russian Federation, the successor state to the USSR. Mikhail Gorbachev put in place the legitimacy of markets, conditions for a move to private property and a political settlement with the West. Boris Yeltsin (see Chapter 12) and Vladimir Putin continued the revolution in property relations though with different consequences, and both subordinated constitutional procedures to achieve their political and economic objectives. Yeltsin's objective was to divest state ownership to the ascendant capitalist class, while Putin sought to strengthen the Russian state initially within the context first of a capitalist neo-liberal economy, then he adopted a more statist policy. A major difference between the two leaders lies in their foreign and international policies: Yeltsin's primary concern was to secure recognition of Russia as a capitalist democracy by the West; Putin has sought respect for Russia as a civilization, as a world power. In terms of political economy, Putin moved Russia away from a chaotic economic formation in the direction of a state-led form of corporatist economy and to greater powers being exercised by the President. Politically, the country moved in the direction of competitive authoritarianism. In the first part of this chapter, I outline the rise of Vladimir Putin and consider his policies. In the second part, I turn to the broader picture and consider the political and economic framework in which his policies are embedded.
