Photo: “State Duma, Hotel Moskva, Moscow Kremlin and Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge“, by mos.ru, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Hue modified from the original
Snegovaya, Maria. “Political Conservatism in Russia.” Desenvolvimento em Debate 5, no. 1: 95-113.
Abstract
In this paper I discuss the conservative turn that took place in Russia in the last 15 years comparing it to the recent experience of Hungary and Poland. I show that to a large extent this backlash is of a socioeconomic nature and reflects the people’s frustration with the downsides of the economic liberalization. Moreover, the depth of the original social transformation determined a society’s ability to resist to the conservative trend. In Russia where the modernization processes were the shallowest, the old political elites could regain power sooner and roll back the society deeper. I also overview different conservative schools of thought in Russia and show Putin manipulated this ideology to strengthen his hold on power.
