| 1. |
- Andermo, Erik, et al.
(författare)
-
Sanctions and dollar dependency in Russia : resilience, vulnerability, and financial integration
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Post-Soviet Affairs. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1060-586X .- 1938-2855. ; 37:3, s. 276-301
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- What are the long-term effects of the financial sanctions against Russia? We provide a time-sensitive analysis of the sanctions impact on certain Russian financial markets and highlight how Russia has responded strategically. Our analysis also captures the effect of the threat of sanctions and informs the debate on sanctions effectiveness. Thus, our study indicates how financial sanctions can be incorporated into theories of deterrence and conflict resolution. We also provide some policy implications that can be generalized and reinforce previous research. Russia's banking system is highly dependent on dollar transactions, and in response to sanctions, Russia has systematically undertaken measures to promote its economic sovereignty under conditions of continued financial integration. We argue that sanctions put some pressure on the Russian budget, and that this effect has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis, but also that Russia has used debt placements strategically in order to deter sanctions escalation.
|
|
| 2. |
- Andermo, Erik, et al.
(författare)
-
Secrecy and Military Expenditures in the Russian Budget
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Post-Soviet Affairs. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1060-586X .- 1938-2855. ; 36:4, s. 297-322
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article proposes a transparent method for collecting, structuring, and analyzing Russian budget data on defense and security-related expenditures. A precise answer to the question of how big Russia’s defense expenditures are is impossible because of issues concerning secrecy and accounting principles. We circumvent this challenge by constructing lower and upper bounds for Russia’s military expenditure, showing that depending on the chosen measure these have increased from the range of 10.3–31.2% of federal expenditures in 2011 to 12.9–35.4% in 2018. The analysis also yields additional insights into the concept of secrecy in the Russian budget; we show that 39 out of 96 subchapters in the Russian budget contain secret expenditures, many of which are not nominally related to defense or security, and that secret expenditures increased as a share of total expenditures from 12% to 17% between 2011 and 2019.
|
|
| 3. |
- Blackburn, Matthew, Dr., et al.
(författare)
-
Parade, plebiscite, pandemic : legitimation efforts in Putin’s fourth term
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Post-Soviet Affairs. - : Taylor & Francis Group. - 1060-586X .- 1938-2855. ; 38:4, s. 293-311
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Putin’s fourth term as president (2018–2024) has involved new challenges for Russia’s hybrid regime. COVID-19 hit the Kremlin at a sensitive time, when the old institutional forces had been demounted and new arrangements, including extensive constitutional changes, had yet to become cemented. There is an emerging gulf between state rhetoric, PR events, and patriotic performances, on the one hand, and economic chaos, social disorder and dysfunctional state capacity, on the other, which is likely to reduce system legitimacy and cause increased reliance on repressive methods. This article examines Kremlin legitimation efforts across Beetham’s three dimensions: rules, beliefs, and actions. We argue that the regime’s legitimation efforts in 2020–21 have failed to reverse emerging cleavages in public opinion since 2018. Increased reliance on repression and manipulation in this period, combined with the contrast between regime promises and observable realities on the ground, speak not of strength, but of the Kremlin’s increased weakness and embattlement.
|
|
| 4. |
- Gamkrelidze, Natia
(författare)
-
From failing state to strategic partner : analyzing US and NATO political elite images of Georgia and policy implications from 1991 to 2020
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Post-Soviet Affairs. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1060-586X .- 1938-2855. ; 37:6, s. 578-599
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article investigates U.S. and NATO political elite images of Georgia and policy implications from 1991 to 2020. The analysis relies on the author’s 44 original interviews with U.S. and NATO political elites, including U.S. Secretaries and Assistant Secretaries of States, U.S. Generals, Secretaries-General and Deputy Secretaries of NATO, and others in power in the different periods from 1991 to 2020. The study shows that three main images of Georgia have emerged over the 30-year historical period in the eyes of U.S. and NATO political elites. In the first two decades, leadership and personal connections have increased the likelihood of certain policies together with material determinants and ideational factors. In the third decade, personal ties had disappeared, but structural incentives were acknowledged by U.S. and NATO elites which impacted their policies. Moreover, results show that the U.S. relationship with Georgia has been chiefly personalized rather than institutionalized.
|
|
| 5. |
- Hoyle, Aiden, et al.
(författare)
-
Life through grey-tinted glasses : how do audiences in Latvia psychologically respond to Sputnik Latvia’s destruction narratives of a failed Latvia?
- 2024
-
Ingår i: Post-Soviet Affairs. - 1060-586X .- 1938-2855. ; 40:1, s. 1-18
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Although concern about the effects of international audiences consuming Russian state-sponsored media has been expressed, little empirical research examines this. The current study asks how audiences in Latvia respond to narratives projected by Sputnik Latvia – a Kremlin-financed news outlet. We begin a tripartite methodological approach with an analysis of the types of narratives the outlet projects. We then test how ethnic Latvian and Russian-speaking participants in Latvia respond to destruction narratives that portray Latvia as “failing,” the most prominent type in our analysis. We use two survey experiments that test an existing hypothetical mediation model predicting an array of affective and trust responses. We find evidence that exposure to destruction narratives triggered largely similar responses in both groups; however, exploratory analyses and post-survey focus groups are used to show that their motivations may be different. We conclude by discussing potential reasons for these differences, and the ramifications of these results.
|
|
| 6. |
- Kragh, Martin, et al.
(författare)
-
Putinism beyond Putin : the political ideas of Nikolai Patrushev and Sergei Naryshkin in 2006-20
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Post-Soviet Affairs. - : Routledge. - 1060-586X .- 1938-2855. ; 39:5, s. 366-389
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This essay adds to previous research of Putinism an investigation of the political thought and foreign outlooks of Russia's Secretary of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev and Head of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Sergei Naryshkin, with a focus on their statements between 2006 to 2020. The paper outlines Patrushev's and Naryshkin's thoughts regarding the United States, Ukraine, and the idea of multipolarity/polycentrism. We then introduce Patrushev's critique of liberal values and color revolutions, and Naryshkin's statements on the memory of World War II and Western institutions. The salience of these altogether seven topics is interpreted with reference to three classical topoi in Russian political thought: the Slavophile vs. Westerners controversy, the single-stream theory, and the civilizational paradigm. Our conclusions inform the ongoing debate on whether to conceptualize Putinism as either an ideology or a mentality.
|
|
| 7. |
- Petrusenko, Nadezda
(författare)
-
Historical consciousness and the consolidation of the opposition : uses of the history of revolution and dissent in Russian protest art, 2008–2012
- 2024
-
Ingår i: Post-Soviet Affairs. - : Routledge. - 1060-586X .- 1938-2855. ; 40:2, s. 88-104
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The protests against election fraud in Russia in winter 2011–2012 were the first in the post-Soviet period that were attended by a united opposition, and attracted hundreds of thousands of previously apolitical citizens. This article seeks to explain mass participation in the protests by focusing on uses of the history of revolution and dissent in Russian protest art. The article investigates whether a common historical consciousness, which could have made it possible to unify previously fragmented opposition and mobilize previously apolitical citizens, was manifested in protest artworks created by artists with differing political ideologies. The conclusion is that the official historical narrative promoted by the state–of a spiritual unity between a strong state and the people–was challenged and undermined by protest artists, who have characterized Russian history as a continuous struggle between an oppressive state and civil society. This finding indicates that a common historical consciousness was manifested in protest artworks.
|
|
