Pros And Cons Of Being A Russian

Throughout its long history, Russia has been trapped in a continuous cycle of authoritarian regimes; only interrupted briefly with periods of tumultuous democratic transitions that were plagued by poor bureaucracy and weak institutions. Therefore, time and time again, Russia has turned towards authoritarianism. In the late 1900’s to early 2000’s, Russia again saw the fall of democracy coincide with the rise of a competitive authoritarian regime. This rise of competitive authoritarianism in Russia in the late 1900’s to early 2000’s was largely the result of the resource curse which granted Putin’s Administration false economic performance legitimacy. This in turn reinvigorated past strongman ideals, while at the same time solidified negative

To me personally I feel like to be an American means to have privileges, rights, and freedom. We might not all be perfect in the way of having everything we want , but it is one of the only countries to have rights given to people of different raises and gender. America does not have does not have a very good amount of poverty. But instead we have our own personal choices given to us by the people who fought and passed away for our freedom that we have today. Being an american means to go beyond yourself to create your own legacy, and to not give up until you achieve your goal.

During the Communist regime in the former Soviet Union, life was very difficult. The people who lived within the countries controlled by the Soviet government experienced levels of oppression akin to slavery. They could not express themselves through any means and had to conform both body and soul to the views of the Communist Party. People could be arrested, imprisoned, shipped off to exile or executed often without trial. Some twenty million people died while Joseph Stalin led the USSR and for many years after his death it was still dangerous to dare criticize his regime, although some scholars put that number closer to forty million people who died. Now that the Soviet Union has broken up and Russia is its own country there is more freedom, but the people still live under the yoke of an oppressive leader who does not tolerate political or social challenges. The people do nothing to stand up to this government because they have all been scarred by the decades they lived under Stalin.

Russia, as a country, has had a long and proud history. However, for a small time starting in 1917, things started to take a turn for the worse. There was widespread famine, disease, and killing by the instituted government. There was also no Russia. Instead, there was the glorious United Soviet Socialist Republics, or the USSR. This new country did not come around peacefully, but instead under the 1917 Russian Revolution and the revolting communist Bolsheviks. The Russian people were not in a better condition after the Russian revolution due to Stalin’s leadership of his country; the reason being the GULAGs that Stalin was sending his people to, the communes that the peasants were sent to, and the disastrous effects of his five year plans.

The Kremlin does not take kindly to any who would question its authority, whether through speech, essays, or social media. In fact, all protests except those authorized by the government are illegal. Another example of their censorship is visible in 2015 when the Kremlin attempted to disconnect Russia’s internet from that of the rest of the world in order to close the country from outside influences (Soldatov 396). The reason for such adamancy on the subject of censorship is due to the fact that Russian authorities have reimplemented their repressive tactics towards opponents since Vladimir Putin’s presidential reelection in 2012 (Gel’den 7). The Kremlin bases its success off of the extent of control it can exert. Thus, the breeding ground of ideas that is the internet is dangerous to their objectives. While it is impossible to completely shut the country off from external influences at the moment, Russia is definitely capable of stifling domestic opposition; especially that of the people

The government of the modern day Russian Federation must be traced back to the early 20th century in order to understand its current posture. In 1917, tired of the sequestering limits of a Tsarist system, a small revolutionary group called the Bolshevik Party gained control of Russia . The Bolshevik Party, led by Lenin and inspired by Marxist ideology, attempted to establish a Constitute Assembly. However, a post- revolutionary environment and an unsupportive public forced Lenin to abolish rival political parties and establish a dictatorship to retain The Bolshevik Party’s power. In 1919, the

Way back in 1776 the people of the colonies decided to fight for what they wanted and they took a stand and fought against the odds, and from that moment the american spirit was born. Although Americans may have a bad reputation,Being an American means to be a free individual, have a voice and being patriotic.

“There are no morals in politics; there is only expedience. A scoundrel may be of use to us just because he is a scoundrel.” -Vladimir Lenin. Because of the changes in Russia’s government and economy over the years, authoritarianism has changed drastically, but the common theme of strong government and limited freedom for citizens has stayed the same.

Being an American is something I’m proud of, I have a lot more freedom than other countries. The Declaration of independence was declared on July 4th, 1776 and ever since then the government has only gotten better. Some of the reason the government has gotten better is, we have to ability to vote, and the government is making decisions and is projecting the rights for the citizens.

Given that the population of the United States is a very large number, I’m sure there are many, many different opinions on what it means to be American, not to mention the amount of people outside the United States that also have their own opinions of our country. To be American means many things, but above all, in my opinion, being an American divides into two categories: a person’s emotions about the country, and a person’s state of being based on living in that country. These two categories have many different adjectives that fall underneath them.

Nuclear weapons threaten to end the world and begin the step by step process to space travel. The U.S and Russia go ballistic over missiles all because of a former Nazi, Von Braun.This was because he was really smart and he would be the one to design the United States first rocket. He fled Europe to the U.S., to help them build a missile. In Russia, a prisoner named Sergei Korolev was forced to work by Stalin to build a replica missile of Von Braun’s

American, the word has such strong powerful connotations. But the big question is whether not the dominant meaning behind this word is good or not. Being a duel citizen to the states and Canada I find I have an interesting view on this. I believe a big part of being an American is considering yourself to be part of the number 1 country in the world. This whole idea of being the best really irks me. At times I am proud to be a big strong American, but if I am so proud why when I travel do I usually tell people I am Canadian. Is it possible to be proud and slightly ashamed at the same time?

In Putin’s Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia?, Karen Dawisha relates Russian President Vladmir Putin’s rise to power. She overarchingly claims that Putin is an authoritarian leader who has obstructed and even reverted Russia’s path of democratization, citing, amongst many factors that enabled his ascension, his “interlocking web of personal connections in which he was the linchpin” (100), money-laundering to tax havens and personal projects, and the complicity of the West. With copious research, journalistic interviews, legal documents, and even sporadic informational diagrams, it is evident why her book is so popular amongst scholars and history enthusiasts. Unfortunately however, in spite of the grand yet oftentimes substantiated claims she generates, a more subtle yet noteworthy assumption is made: that the state is a protector, as Olson proffered. She employs this theoretical underpinning from the beginning, though is not representative of Putin’s actual authoritarian regime.

In recent times, no one can take total power by force alone; you must offer something favorable to the people in order to obtain support. Unfortunately, there are some countries that follow a dictatorship system, which is a form of government that includes social and political power to ensure that the individual’s capability remains strong. Vladimir Putin is a contemporary dictator of Russia. His rebelliousness as a child has led him to his leadership. His cold-heartedness to his rivals and invasion towards countries has led to an opposition towards him. Vladimir Putin’s experience as a street thug led him to his leadership, which easily rose him to power: Not only has he committed crimes against humanity, but he has made groups of people and countries oppose him.

The present day Russian Federation involves a democratic system, given the presence of elections, an independent judiciary, and the supremacy of law. Yet, in democracy, the crux of it involves an inevitable paradox: law limits state power, but the state must have the power to enforce the law. However, finding the balance of the ability to enforce laws, and therefore maintaining order, while not infringing on civil liberties, requires a mutual understanding, a social contract, between the rulers and the ruled. This requirement has not found its place in the Russian political arena, especially since “creating a rule-of-law-based sate out of dictatorship is not easy” (Bressler 2009). In addition, the Russian psyche views authority as a source of force and violence (Yakovlev 1996), an etymological result of a continuity beginning from imperial Russia. Although the Russian Federation, the Union Soviet Socialist Republics, the Russian Empire, and the Tsardom of Russia differ significantly, a strong state remains prevalent in the core of Russian history and politics. In short, the nature of political rule in Russia involves a never ending tug of war between the seemingly undying authoritative soulless entity known as the state and the equally undying Russian people’s hunger for liberty.