Democratization in Russia: Expectations and Experiences

Russia being the largest successor state among the post-Soviet countries, its distinct civilization, unique history, and contribution to various fields has earned interest among scholars. Moreover, it was also perceived that since Russia straddles two continents, Asia and Europe, any development in Russia will either have a direct or an indirect bearing on Europe and Asia. These factors have collectively generated a great amount of scholarly interest in studying post-Soviet Russian democratization. The article focuses on the aspects of the convergence and divergence of these entities in the case of the Russian Federation. In this endeavour, the article chalks out the key components of democratization and their interplay in Russia. An attempt is made to understand the perception of democracy among Russians and whether democratic reforms in post-Soviet Russia led to any change of perception among Russians about democracy. The article also unravels the institutional dynamics in order to ascertain the Russian experience of democratization. The article concludes with some recommendations for future course of actions with regard to democratization.