RUSSIA'S POLITICAL SYSTEM
By Daryl R. Evans
General Characteristics of Agricultural, Industrial, and Information Age Political Systems
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Agricultural Age Political Systems:Pre-democratic political systems of various kinds, in fuedal systems and ancient empires.
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Industrial Age Political Systems: Representative democracy and a multiparty political system for the rising middle class in the West, with democracy based on an informed, educated middle class; democratic centralism in socialist countries, with population also educated.
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Information Age Political Systems: Global democratization trends, in former communist and South countries today, with modern technologies making control of information to citizens by dictators difficult. Social-political change on important issues initatied by direct, grass-roots, participatory democracy involving media coverage, electronic networking on the internet, FAXS, and other forms oe electronic democracy. Increasing numbers of issues (arms control; free trade; AIDS; pollution; and terrorism) require global cooperation and/ or local action, not just national policies, to solve them.
Information/Data on Russia's Political System
The Russian Federation is made up of 21 autonomous republics with the capital being in Moscow. It has a three branch system of goverment modeled after the United States. The executive branch is headed by Boris Nikolayevick Yelstin(since 12 June 1991). The legislative branch is a bicameral federal assembly, it consists of the State Duma and the Federal Council. The State Duma has 450 members that are elected throughout the country based on population of the districts. The Federal Council has 176 members, two each elected from Russia's 89 territorial units.
Judicial Branch: Constitutional Court, Supreme Court(highest court for criminal, and administrative cases), Superior Court of Arbitration (highest court that resolves economic matters)
There are more than 20 parties currently competing in Russian politics.
Conclusions on Russia (Whether Primarily Agricultural, Industrial, or Information Age Re: Its Political System)
In the area of political structure and ages, Russia does not fit easily into any category. It is a new country, that has not had a lot of experience with democracy. It is going through major growing pains in its political structures. Corruption is a major problem in the government. In the final discussion of Russian politics I would venture to put them in the industrial age as far as their political structure and processes.
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Traditional Bibliographic Sources on Russia's Political System
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