Putin's Electoral Authoritarianism

Electoral Authoritarianism After the fall of the Soviet Union in December of 1991, the political actors in Russia had a choice to push for either a democratic or authoritarian regime. The political actors opted to advance an authoritarian regime, and used a façade of democratic practices to legitimize the new government and establish antidemocratic policies. The initial push toward an authoritarian regime put Russia on a path gradually leading away from not only democracy but also freedom itself. This path Russia was set on has led to Putin’s electoral authoritarian government and continues to drive Russian policies. Gel’Man’s account of Putin’s electoral authoritarianism shows both the strengths and weaknesses of this particular form of government.
The conditions of Russia at the time of Putin’s succession of Boris Yeltsin were quite favorable. He started his presidency as an incumbent and also inherited “A favorable alignment of the world market”(76) spurred by rising oil prices allowed for his economic reforms to benefit Russia in a major way. These benefits empowered Putin, increased support for him, and forced loyalty from Russia’s elites. With most of Russia behind him, Putin has had, as Gel’Man puts it, “free reign” over policymaking and allowed for power to be re-concentrated in the Kremlin. This centralization of power allows the Kremlin to control each region from top to bottom through the “de facto appointment of regional chief executives” (87) who gained this position through their support of Putin’s party, United Russia. With one clear leader in Putin, there is no question over what direction the country will choose on any
Modernization is very important to advance the economy and image of any country, however modernization is characterized by an increase in education, quality of life, and urbanization. These characteristics create a social climate that calls for democratic practices such as separation of powers, fair elections, and party systems. Thus by advancing the economy of Russia, Putin is creating a citizenry that is opposed to his form of government. To combat this, “The political dimension of Russian modernization under Mendelev was deliberately limited to rhetorical liberalization”(108). Limiting modernization effectively made the execution of modernization in post-soviet Russia impossible. The, “political and institutional constraints buried any hopes of turning the Russia of the 2010s into a new South Korea of the