1. October 5, 2018 - introduction to the course. Requirements, expectations etc.

2. October 12, 2018 - forming of the state - was the fall of the Soviet Union real catastrophe for Russia? Why was the fall of the Soviet Union "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe"? What went wrong?

a. George Breslauer, Evaluating Gorbachev as a Leader, pp. 271-294

b. David R. Marples, Revisiting the Collapse of the USSR1

3. October 19, 2018 - were the 1990s a disaster? Were the reforms of 1990s complete failure?

a. Peter Rutland, Boris Eltsin of History, http://www.gwu.edu/~ieresgwu/assets/docs/demokratizatsiya%20archive/06-04_rutland.pdf

b. George Breslauer, Evaluating Yeltsin as Leader

4. October 26, 2018 - Vladimir Putin - a rise of a strongman? How Vlaimir Putin got to a power? Why the system became so stable? What were the conditions, environment?

a. Richard Sakwa, Putin’s Path in Putin: Russia’s choice

5. November 2, 2018 - Russia as a dictatorship? President’s power in the system. Putin’s use of a parliament etc.

a. William A. Clark, Boxing Russia Executive-Legislative Powers and the Categorization of Russia’s Regime Type

6. November 16, 2018- Russian elections - fraud or reflection of voters’ preferences? Party system. Reforms of the party system as a limitation of democracy etc. Setting the authoritarian rule?

7. November 23, 2018 - groups of power. Siloviks, liberals etc. informal power, rules.

a. Alena Ledeneva, How Russia Really Works, pp. 10-27

7. November 30, 2018- Russian federation - united we stand? Is Russia still a federation, or a unitary state?

8. December 14, 2018 - Russian economy - colossus on clay feet? Dependency on oil. Current problems of Russia’s economy - Why it is stagnating?

a. http://www.nber.org/papers/w10057.pdf?new_window=1

9. December 21, 2018 - Russian foreign policy - Is Russia losing its role? Relations with the close neighborhood. Russian aspect in their policies. Russian minority.

11. January 4, 2019 - Russia as an emerging great power? Great power ambitions. Multi-vector policy. Geopolitics

12.