This master's thesis is devoted to the phenomenon of Putinism, its selected characteristics and the impact it has had on Russian society, economy and development over the past twenty years. The Code of Putinism, which combines both self-interest motives and Putinist ideas, including statism, conservatism, and anti-Westernism, testifies to the fact that the politics and decision-making of Russian elites depend on many factors, not just instrumental rationality. These central ideas reinforce the habits of control, order and loyalty, anti-pluralism and hypermasculinity acquired in the Soviet state, especially in its security organs, and the emotions associated with loss of status, resentment, desire for respect and vulnerability. All these motives intertwine and connect Putinism as a whole, and point to the complexity of the definition of Putinism. The master's thesis rejects the equating of the notions of Russiannism and Putinism, although it reveals many similar features that define both the character of the regime and questions about the Russian essence and the never-ending ambivalence of the Russian soul. The thesis presents Putinism in its authoritative light, as a conservative, populist and personalist autocracy, while outlining the reflection of all three in the Putinist regime. It also defines electoral authoritarianism, which is considered the Russian regime of the 21st century, and alongside it the functioning of informal clan networks, one of the special features of Putinism and its influence on changes in power patterns in Russia.
The master's thesis also provides an interesting comparison of Putin-like regimes - Bonapartism and Berlusconism. The fact that Putinism contains elements from these systems does not mean that Putin consciously built his system from these elements, nor was he directly or indirectly influenced by these systems. In conclusion, the master's thesis focuses on the current situation and issues for the future and poses challenges that Russia will have to face when Putinism is no more, as Putinism is not a movement with a permanent structure that would survive the rule of its founder, nor an original transformation program. economy and society, and its foreign policy is in line with the policy pursued by Russia for decades, if not centuries.
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