Misinterpreting Modern Russia Western Views of Putin and His Presidency

by Sergi, Bruno S.

• ISBN13: 9781441106797
• ISBN10: 1441106790
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-12-22
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

When President Vladimir Putin ascended to the Kremlin at the end of the 1990s, he had to struggle with the after-effects of Boris Yeltsin's political agenda: outrageous corruption, endless social injustice, and deeply entrenched interests dating back to Gorbachev and beyond. From the outset, Putin saw his task as leveling out the political scenery. Discontent had been building up among ordinary Russians on these consequences of the dramatically unstable 1990s. Stabilization of the political system and cleaning up the widespread corruption were Putin's aims, and the Russian people supported him wholeheartedly. Many observers in the West were quick to condemn Putin and depict him as an authoritarian, dishonest leader who was still linked to the KGB. When asked why Russians were supporting the new Kremlin, many experts explained that it was a paradox that combined the country's supposed history of tyranny and its people's inclination towards it. These explanations shaped the West's understanding of modern Russia and they appear to be unshakeable in cultural circles today. Bruno Sergi argues, in this new study, that the way to know the complete story behind how Putin's presidency has been viewed in Russia, is to examine closely the hard realities that conditioned Putin's policies and responses. Misinterpreting ModernRussia: Western Views of Putin and his Presidencylooks beyond the stereotypes to the hard logic of the 1990s, and asks a range of provocative questions about the disintegration of the old Soviet empire and the extraordinary riches that have caused so much opportunity and turmoil in recent years.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: An Astonishing Story

Chapter 2: Three Visions for a Modern Russia

Chapter 3: The Manhattan Boys of Russia

Chapter 4: Being Conscious of Russian Realities

Chapter 5: A New Leader for a New Russia

Chapter 6: Western Critique of Western-Conceived Russian Reforms

Chapter 7: Gas and Oil Expansion

Chapter 8: The Manhattan Boys Go To Jail

Chapter 9: Clamping Down on Corruption - Lawful or Lawless?

Chapter 10: A Lack of Interest

Chapter 11: A Modern Russia and More Thoughtful West

Chapter 12: Conclusion