POLb1130 Politics in Russia

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
prof. PhDr. Jan Holzer, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Andrei Kalavur (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Jan Holzer, Ph.D.
Department of Political Science – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Mgr. Lucie Pospíšilová
Supplier department: Department of Political Science – Faculty of Social Studies
Prerequisites (in Czech)
! POL330 Politics in Russia && !NOW( POL330 Politics in Russia )
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 39 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The aim of the course is to describe the form and characteristics of the current political regime / system of the Russian Federation, taking into account the historical development of Russia from the end of the XIX century. century as a prerequisite for the analysis of the current model. Attention is paid to the modern political history of Russia, further to the institutional sphere and its systemic parameters (the structure of state bodies, the electoral system, political parties, the opposition, the area of organized interests and the link of the center to the regions of the federation) as well as to non-institutional aspects (human rights), all of this with the aim of an adequate categorization of the current political regime. The basic goals of the course are to acquaint students with modern Russian politics and to critically examine some of the myths associated with it in social science theory.
Learning outcomes
Graduates of the course have knowledge and understanding of the key realities of the development of modern Russian politics and are ready to apply classical political theory, concepts and typologies to modern Russian politics.
Syllabus
  • Introduction to the subject. Lecture: Russian politics - basic interpretation 2. Lecture: Political traditions of Romanov Russia 3. Lecture: Political regime of Soviet Russia 4. Lecture: The fall of the Soviet model, the Russian transition. The political regime of Yeltsin's Russia 5. Lecture: The political regime of Putin and Medvedev's Russia 6. Lecture: Opposition in Russian politics: tradition and present 7. Reading week 8. Lecture: Russian Foreign Policy 9. Lecture: Contemporary Russian political and geopolitical thinking 10. Russo-Ukrainian War 11. Seminar with an external expert 12. Seminar on contemporary Russian politics 13. Exam
Literature
    required literature
  • Gelman, V.: Authoritarian Russia, Univ. of Pittsburgh Press 2015
  • Dějiny Ruska 20. století. Edited by Andrej Borisovič Zubov, Translated by Libor Dvořák - Zuzana Soukupo. Vydání první. Praha: Argo, 2015, 769 s. ISBN 9788025709641. info
  • NOWAK, Andrzej. Impérium a ti druzí : Rusko, Polsko a moderní dějiny východní Evropy. Edited by Maciej Ruczaj, Translated by Jan Baron. 1. vyd. Brno: Centrum pro studium demokracie a kultury (CDK), 2010, 263 s. ISBN 9788073252229. info
  • HOLZER, Jan. Politický systém Ruska :hledání státu. 1. vyd. Brno: Centrum pro studium demokracie a kultury, 2001, 221 s. ISBN 80-85959-97-6. info
    recommended literature
  • Shiraev, E.: Russian Government and Politics. Comparative Government and Politics, Palgrave: Macmillan 2010, pp. 3-24, 56-61
Teaching methods
Lectures and seminars.
Assessment methods
Requirements for completing the course 1. Submission of a written assignment, exclusively to the subject submission office in IS, on one of two topics (see below). Submission deadline - no later than Monday, April 22, 2024 inclusive; assignments sent later will not be taken into account and students will not be graded in the subject. Evaluation no later than Monday, April 29, 2024 in a notebook in IS. The task can be corrected at most once. Its fulfillment is a condition for admission to the final written exam. More information below. 2. A score of at least 24 points in the written examination test. Test structure: maximum 40 points, including 4 questions of 4 points each and 3 questions of 8 points each. The content of the test is determined by the lectured topics and the assigned literature (167 pages of text in English and 404 pages in Czech). Test duration 40 minutes. Point scale: 40-37 points: A; 36-33: B; 32-30: C; 29-27: D; 26-24: E; 23 points or less: F.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2025/POLb1130