Legitimacy

​​​Legitimacy Important Terms
 * **Legitimacy- the quality of being in accordance with law or the established legal requirements**
 * In Russia, political legitimacy has been based on strong autocratic rule
 * Tsars
 * Dictators of the 20th century
 * However, Russia's sense of political legitimacy has been very low
 * Regime change has been so recent
 * Drastic change from Stanlinism
 * Russian's have had very little trust in their government due to coups and regime changes over the last century
 * The issue of Nationality has been a constant cleavage in Russia
 * boarders based on ethnicty
 * "federations" or "autonomous regions"
 * many want independence from Russia, but have trade benifits that keep them to stay in the Federation
 * Dispite mistrust in the government, Russians expect their government to take an active role in their lives
 * for most of Russian history, the citizens have functioned more as subjects then participanats
 * Up until the early 20th century a great majority of the Russian population were serfs
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">power of the old Soviet Union is still present
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Current Event Link: []
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">This article talks about the Russia-Georgia conflit of 2008 that occured durring the Bejing Olympics. Both sides have amassed troops to go into a full fledged war. Putin condems Georgia's actions calling it "an act of agression." However, Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili, states that this is not 1968 and this is no longer the Soviet Union, and that Russia cannot control them. The US and the EU immediately tried through diplomatic means to create a cease-fire and stop the conflict before it became a major conflict.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">This is an example of Putin's attempt to create a <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">near-abroad <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">, or a new Soviet Union. By using force to control an independent country, Russia is once again trying to assert it's dominance over Eastern Europe. However, times have changed, and countries want their independence.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> Democtatic Centralism; a principle of communist party organization by which members take part in policy discussions and elections at all levels but must follow decisions made at higher levels
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> Totalitarianism; dictatorship: a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Stalinism; <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">an adaptation of communism by Stalin where the ruler is an absolute dictator
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Confederation of Independent States (CIS); <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">The now independent satellite states of the former <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 108%;">Soviet Union



<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 118.8%;">Constitution of 1993 (The Interesting Bits) (KM)

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 * ======Russia / Russian Federation will be a Democratic rule-of-law state with a republican government======
 * Man's Rights have supreme value, it is the state's duty to protect these rights.
 * The people of the Russian Federation are the only source of power.
 * Seizure of power will be prosecuted.
 * Legislative (Council of the Federation and State Duma), Judiciary, (several levels of courts) and Executive (President elected every four years) Branches.
 * Separation of Church and State (mentioned in different ways many times!).
 * State and local governments must abide by laws set forth in constitution.
 * All people are equal before the law.
 * Capitol punishment is legal until its abolition (like slavery when the US constitution was written maybe).
 * Dignity is protected by the state.
 * Right to privacy.
 * " It shall be forbidden to gather, store, use and disseminate information on the private life of any person without his/her consent."
 * Censorship prohibited, freedom of speech and media.
 * Right to take part in elections and referendums.
 * Right to practice administering justice.
 * Right of inheritance guaranteed.
 * Everyone has the right to rest and leisure.
 * Employable children over the age of 18 have the responsibility to care for their unemployable parents.
 * Right to education.
 * 89 different territories.

Some Contrasts to our Constitution (KM)
 * In Russia there is no local government, it is self governed.
 * People exercise power directly.
 * Liberties and Freedoms are not stated out right away like they are in the Bill of Rights (but it is mentioned how important they are many many times).
 * Everyone has the right to health care.