/425/ Reading Club: Russia's Imitation Democracy

On the late Dmitri Furman's account of post-Soviet Russia.

We continue our discussions along this year's themes (rise and fall of nations; Russia past and present) by tackling Imitation Democracy: The Development of Russia's Post-Soviet Political System.

• Why has there been a revival in interest in the late Soviet and early post-Soviet period? And in the global 1990s in general?

• What does it really mean to be without-alternative?

• Why didn't democracy take hold in Russia? And why did it become an "imitation democracy" and not something else?

• How was Yeltsin a disaster? And what was Putin's appeal?

• Does 'Putinism' actually exist? Is it interesting or novel in any way?

• What happened after Furman's death and Russia's turn to "violent parody of the West"?

Readings:

• Imitation Democracy: The Development of Russia's Post-Soviet Political System, Dmitri Furman, Verso

• Imitation Democracies: The Post-Soviet Penumbra, Dmitri Furman, New Left Review (pdf)

• Imitation Democracy: Perry Anderson writes about Dmitri Furman’s analysis of Russia’s post-communism, Perry Anderson, London Review of Books

Listening Links:

• /114/ Reading Club: The Light That Failed - on the end of the "Age of Imitation"

• /270/ Russia vs the West ft. Richard Sakwa - on the endgame to war in Ukraine; and /271/ Russia vs the West (2) ft. Richard Sakwa - on the post-Soviet landscape

• /410/ Reading Club: Deutscher's Stalin - On Isaac Deutscher's classic Stalin: A Political Biography

• /421/ Who Are the Wrong Ukrainians? ft. Volodymyr Ishchenko - on post-Soviet Ukraine, from Maidan to war

Music: Éva Csepregi, "O.K. Gorbacsov", Hungaroton , WEA, High Fashion Music, Dureco