POL 150C1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Vladimir Putin, Maoism
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14 Nov 2014
School
Department
Course
Professor
POL 150- Politics of Happiness - Lecture 14: Russia
EXAM HINTS:
● Scandanavian Political Values
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● Watch YouTube Oppressed Majority
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Wednesday 10/29/14
● Major Contentions
○ Contemporary Russia is not the U.S.S.R.
○ Russia is on the way back & is again a major global power
○ Most Russians are happy with the direction of their country’s development
○ Vladimir Putin is now in the pantheon of Russia’s (six) greatest leaders
○ A realisitc prism for evaluating Russian development is via
■ (a) state consolidation and institution building rather than
■ (b) democracy building
● Our Coverage of Russia
○ Advancing Russia & the growing middle class
○ The “Russian Soul” and “Russian civilization.”
○ Vladimir Putin & an assertive Russia
■ Russians’ level of approval of the job President Vladimir Putin is doing
keeps rising
○ Russia is not what it used to be (U.S.S.R.), is is more progressive with an
excessive nightlife
● Do we need to qualify every discussion of contemporary Russia with references to
Stalinism and mass killings?
● Do we need to qualify every discussion of the contemporary U.S. with references to
slavery, genocide of native peoples, etc.?
● Who has a monopoly on “evil”?
○ Russia - Stalinism
○ North America - genocide of Native Americans slavery & indenturing of Chinese
○ Asia - Maoism - Middle Kingdom, Persian Empire
○ Europe - Nazi wars of conquest & Holocaust
○ Africa - ethnic rivalries and wars
○ Latin America - genocide of Native peoples
○ Australia - brutalization of aborigines
● What did service in the KGB in the 1980’s-90’s mean (from a Russian perspective?)
○ Those seeking upward mobility
○ Career professionalism
○ Access to travel & information
○ Prestige & “middle class” comfort
○ Commitment to the strong state
○ “Squeaky clean” reputation