INTS 284-01, Russia and the Soviet Successor States, Fall 2010

Abstract

This course is a general introduction into the political, cultural, social and historical background of Russian and post-Soviet successor states’ domestic and foreign politics. It will enumerate the wide spectrum of political forces (groups, concepts, persons, issues) active in the area today. The past two decades have brought enormous changes to Russia and the other countries of Eurasia. Designed with those changes in mind, the course program aims to strike a balance between the need for intellectual flexibility and the need for academic structure. The largest emphasis is on the study of Russia, but attention is also given to the non-Russian regions of the former USSR. The course is by its nature an interdisciplinary one, incorporating a great deal of historical background since it is difficult to understand modern Russian and post-Soviet politics separately from their roots as well as social and cultural contexts.