Suchergebnisse

In the light of Viktor Yushchenko's victory over Viktor Yanukovych in the Ukrainian run-off presidential elections of November 21 & December 26, 2004, as well as that of other recent political turnabouts in nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), this article examines the thesis that the Ukrainian "Orange Revolution" & other such revolutions were manufactured by Western agents with the intent of gradually encircling, & eventually overtaking, Russia with a political tide. Many related allegations are considered & analyzed, & the recent revolutionary movements in CIS states are compared for potentially revealing similarities. The potential impact on states in Central Asia and the Caucasus are also considered. It is argued that this scenario of manufactured revolutions is probably not realistic; however, the fact that the possibility of such a scenario is taken seriously by many people in the region, it is suggested, will continue to have an impact on regional politics regardless of whether or not the scenario is realistic. 3 Tables. R. K. Brown

Alexseev argues that four robust `state-preserving' pillars of support prevent Russia from collapsing. This article seeks rather to persuade that these pillars provided little safeguard against the `confederalization' of Russia's Federation, particularly after the `systemic shock' of August 1998. It finds agreement with Alexseev in noting the dangers to stability posed by Putin's programme of recentralization, and concludes by suggesting that the politics of `Putinism' will become a key litmus test for the nature of Russian governance into the 21st century.