Books
Presidential Decrees in Russia: A Comparative Perspective
(2014)
The book examines the way Russian presidents Yeltsin, Medvedev, and Putin have used their constitutional decree powers since the end of the Soviet regime. The Russian constitution gives the Russian president extremely broad decree-making power, but its exercise is constrained by both formal and informal considerations. The book compares the Russian president's powers to those of other presidents, including the executive powers of the United States president and those of Latin American presidents. The book traces the historical development of decree power in Russia from the first constitution in 1905 through the Soviet period and up to the present day, showing strong continuities over time. It concludes that Russia's president operates in a strategic environment, where he must anticipate the way other actors, such as the bureaucracy and the parliament, will respond to his use of decree power.
The Politics of Inequality in Russia
(2011)
This book investigates the relationship between the character of political regimes in Russia's subnational regions and the structure of earnings and income. Based on extensive data from Russian official sources and surveys conducted by the World Bank, the book shows that income inequality is higher in more pluralistic regions. It argues that the relationship between firms and government differs between more democratic and more authoritarian regional regimes. In more democratic regions, business firms and government have more cooperative relations, restraining the power of government over business and encouraging business to invest more, pay more, and report more of their wages. Average wages are higher in more democratic regions and poverty is lower, but wage and income inequality are also higher. The book argues that the rising inequality in postcommunist Russia reflects the inability of a weak state to carry out a redistributive social policy.
The Russian Parliament: Institutional Evolution in a Transitional Regime, 1989-1999
(2001)
From the first free elections in post-Soviet Russia in 1989 to the end of the Yeltsin period in 1999, Russia’s parliament was the site of great political upheavals. Conflicts between communists and reformers generated constant turmoil, and twice parliamentary institutions broke down in violence. This book offers the first full account of the inaugural decade of Russia’s parliament. Thomas F. Remington, a leading scholar of Russian politics, describes in unique detail the Gorbachev-era parliament of 1989-91, the interim parliament of 1990-93, and the current Federal Assembly.
The Politics of Institutional Choice: Formation of the Russian State Duma (with Steven S. Smith)
(2001)
Events in Russia since the late 1980s have created a rare opportunity to watch the birth of democratic institutions close at hand. Here Steven Smith and Thomas Remington provide the first intensive, theoretically grounded examination of the early development of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian Federation's parliament created by the 1993 constitution. They offer an integrated account of the choices made by the newly elected members of the Duma in establishing basic operating arrangements: an agenda-setting governing body, a standing committee system, an electoral law, and a party system. Not only do these decisions promise to have lasting consequences for the post-communist Russian regime, but they also enable the authors to test assumptions about politicians' goals from the standpoint of institutional theory.
The Truth of Authority: Ideology and Communication in the Soviet Union
(1988)
Thomas Remington discusses the methods used by the Communist Party to manage communications in Soviet society. Covering literature produced by Soviet scholars from the 1970s and 1980s, that studies the organization, content, usage, and impact of propaganda, Remington views how Party officials intrinsically manage the structure of the Soviet communications system, through rhetoric of both conservatism and reform.
Parliaments In Transition
The New Legislative Politics in the Former USSR and Eastern Europe
(1994)
A cross-national exploration of legislative politics in the democratizing societies of Russia, Ukraine, the former Czechoslovakia and Hungary. Specialists in legislative politics and area studies examine the post-Soviet legislatures elsewhere in the world. Their contributions provide in-depth views of the new legislators' backgrounds, out-looks, parliamentary behvaiour and political relations inside the legislature and in the larger political arena.
Politics and the Soviet System: Essays in Honor of Frederick C. Barghoorn
(1989)
This collection of essays focuses on topics pertaining to Soviet propaganda and policy making. Among the essays, there is a study of the view of international relations presented by Soviet TV news, a survey of development in comparative communist studies by Gabriel Almond, and an analysis of recent changes in Soviet politics.
Building Socialism in Bolshevik Russia: Ideology and Industrial Organization, 1917-1921
(1984)
Monograph analyzing the formation of the Soviet regime in its earliest, formative stage, during the Civil War. Explains the tension between the mobilizing aspirations of the Bolshevik party and the requirements for institutionalized authority. Explains the efforts to replace market relations with a planned economy with central administrative control over human and physical resources. Argues that Stalinism restored the essential features of the Bolshevik conception of the socialist state.
Politics in Russia
(7th Edition)
(2012)
Comprehensive overview of the contemporary Russian political system. Describes the Soviet system, the transition to the current regime, Putin’s presidency, the role of elections, parliament, courts. Discusses the Russian economy, public opinion and political culture, interest groups and political parties. Intended as a textbook for courses on Russian and postcommunist politics as well as general comparative politics courses. 7th and last edition was published in 2012.