Russia

Russia is a power-oriented society. Throughout all its history, power has been the key to understanding Russia. From very early times when the Kievan Rus’ princes lacked the power to resist the Golden Horde, to Vladimir Putin, in charge of the country since 1999, with his ally the ruling party United Russia today, power has been the center of Russian development. Whereas Peter the Great used his great power in an attempt to transform Russia into a modern state in the 18th century, Nicholas II’s weakness led directly to his abdication. Despite the well-known crimes of his rule, the all-powerful Stalin, often dubbed the “Red Tsar,” still enjoys great popularity in Russia today. In near-perfect symmetry, most of the Russian population today abhors Mikhail Gorbachev, the engineer of Perestroika and Glasnost, and a Nobel Peace prize laureate.