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Russian Politics and Society

Module description

This module introduces you to the study of contemporary Russian politics and society. Why is Russia authoritarian? Who are Russia’s political and economic elites and what are their ambitions? What are the main interest groups in Russian politics? A characteristic feature of this module is that along with the questions about Russian politics, you will also discuss Russia’s demography, ethnic relations, and social inequalities. The module does not require any pre-requisites or co-requisites and is available to all students in Politics, International Relations, Sociology or any other disciplines who are interested in Russia.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The aim of this module is to introduce you to the main facts and approaches to Russian political and social developments, starting from the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and until the contemporary period. In the 2000s and especially after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 Russia positioned itself as a strategic adversary of Western countries. The knowledge of Russian internal politics and society is important for foreign policy making in Western countries and may be applied to working in the government, think tanks and mass media.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate knowledge of the main approaches to the study of the Russian politics and society.
• 2. Analyse in depth a specific theme related to the Russian political and social developments.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Relate the political and social situation in Russia to developments in other countries.
• 4. Apply theoretical approaches from political science and sociology.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Demonstrate ability to work as part of a group.
• 6. Write scholarly texts in the area of social sciences.

Syllabus plan

While the content of the module may vary year to year it will aim to address the following themes

• Russia’s political history.
• Executives and legislatures.
• Interest groups and political elites.
• Federalism and regionalism.
• Political parties, elections and voting.
• Ethnic groups and relations.
• Nationalism.
• Immigration.
• Social inequalities.
• Fertility and mortality.
• Public health.

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• S.A.Wengle. (Ed.) Russian Politics Today: Stability and Fragility. Cambridge University Press, 2022.
• R.Sakwa, H.Hale, S.White. (Eds.) Developments in Russian Politics 9. Duke University Press, 2019.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – Faculty to provide hyperlink to appropriate pages

Key words search

Russia; Russian politics; Russian society