Post-Soviet culture and its contemporary manifestations

Post-Soviet Culture

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or USSR, was developed in 1922, and lasted until its dissolution in 1991, with the development of the Russian Federation. With the dissolution of the U.S.S.R., fifteen independent states were developed these included: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan ("Soviet Union"). All thanks to the actions of Mikhail Gorbachev.

It was the mid to late 1980s when Gorbachev first introduced the concept of glasnost, or openness. Glasnost combined with Gorbachev's ideas of perestroika, or restructuring, was an attempt to modernize Communism and the U.S.S.R. However, inadvertently, Gorbachev spurred the forces that would cause the splintering of the U.S.S.R., into the fifteen republics ("Russia"). This paper will look at some of the aspects of the post-Soviet experience that are common to all fifteen countries, and will also overview distinctive experienced in two different republics, in two districts.

Aspects of the Post-Soviet Experience that are Common to All 15 Countries:

With the Russian Federation the largest of the fifteen republics, accounting for more than sixty percent of the Gross Domestic Product, they have been widely noted as the successor of the Soviet Union in diplomatic affairs. However, there have been several aspects of the post-Soviet experience that all fifteen countries have experienced. Included in this is the lack of military and political power that was previously held when they were bound together as the U.S.S.R. ("History").

All of the republics voluntarily demilitarized. Nuclear weaponry was disarmed and concentrated under the one last effective Soviet military program, the rocket and space forces. Army and fleet forces were in utter chaos and of little use to the federation of independent republics ("History"). All in all, the countries were left primarily defenseless, reduced from one of the world's Superpowers, to a conglomeration of disorganized nations. In addition to this military instability, all fifteen countries also shared economic instability.

The fifteen republics felt the significant challenges of aggressively changing from a primarily state-controlled economy to a market-oriented economy. This would have been difficult for even one nation, let alone fifteen. To accomplish this transition, the republics adopted three primary policies. These included: liberalization, stabilization and privatization, all "based on the neoliberal "Washington Consensus" of the IMF, World Bank, and U.S. Treasury Department" ("History").

Working under the auspices of "shock therapy," Soviet-era price controls were removed. This was instituted in hopes of luring goods back into the severely under stocked stores found throughout the Russian Federation. Hyperinflation ensued and much of Russian industry was near bankrupt. Entrepreneurs and black marketers thrived, while those on fixed incomes, like the elderly suffered. Stabilization in the form of tight monetary policies sought to counter this, but ended up causing widespread hardship, as many of the state enterprises found themselves without product orders and without funding. A protracted depression ensued across the Federation ("History").

Economic growth, however, has strengthened over the course of the approximate decade and a half since the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. As an example Russian GDP and industrial output grew by eight and twelve percent, in 2000, respectively. Strong export prices, especially in areas such as natural gas, and higher domestic demand, fueled growth across the Federation. In addition, import growth facilitated a stronger Ruble at the turn of the millennia, in addition to a higher domestic demand ("Developments").

Distinctive Experiences in Two Countries in Two Different Regions:

The Ukraine:

The Ukraine offers an example of a distinctive experience in just one of the countries of the Russian Federation. The Russians in the Ukraine are a poignant facet of this distinctive experience. Imagine living in a land where, for generations, a culture has been a powerful force, within the community. Then, quite suddenly, with the dissolution of the U.S.S.R., the entire culture becomes an ethnic or linguistic minority, without having emigrated, and no longer are a cultural and political dominator (Smith & Wilson).

Significant ethnic nationality developed. Ethnic nationality comes when a "consciousness of a shared identity within a group, rooted in a shared culture and a belief in common ancestry. Ethno-nationalism is a term that refers to nationalism based on this consciousness of ethnic nationality, as opposed to civic nationality" ("Week 1"). This is in direct contrast to civic nationality.

Civic nationality centers on the shared territory of the group of people. It matters little what each individual's ancestry is, as long as the person was born or is permanently residing within a geographic area ("Week 1"). For the Ukraine, it mattered little that the Russians were permanent residents, or that many had been born within the Ukrainian borders, what mattered was the shared culture of the Ukrainian people, and their ancestry.

It should have been little surprise that ethnic nationalism took hold over civic nationalism. Civic nationalism usually occurs in well-institutionalized democracies ("Week 1"). However, with the independence of the Ukraine, this was not the case. Instead, an institutional vacuum was present, and therefore the citizens turned to their culture, to find the structure they so needed, as they saw institutional collapse all around, and were not receiving the support for basic needs from the institutions they had so long depended upon.

Estonia:

Ethnic nationalism was also a distinctive feature of post-Soviet Estonia. Estonia suffered from the same lack of institutions, just as the Ukraine. For this reason, they turned away from the civic nationalism and towards ethnic nationalism.

The demographic composition of Estonia had a significant concentration of Russians. In fact, there were so many that they constituted a near voting majority. For this reason, Estonia was reluctant to grant Russians full citizenship ("Week 1").