Bertil Nygren

F.D., docent
Ph.D., Associate Professor

E-mail: bertil.nygren@statsvet.su.se

   Hemsidan

The Russian Presidential Election in 2000

(Together with Yuri Fedorov (eds))

The present anthology has a twofold purpose. The first is to describe the processes that gave Russia a new president-a president who inherited both the Kremlin throne of Boris Yeltsin and many of the problems created by him and Russia's communist past. The second is to outline the immediate effects of this shift on the Kremlin throne for Europe, the USA and the West at large. This twofold purpose is also seen in the structure of the book. The first two chapters are directly concerned with this change at Russia's helm, and deal with the presidential election itself and the election campaign (Anna-Maria Nilsson and Bertil Nygren) and the public opinion polls (Elena I. Bashkirova) connected with the rise of Putin to the most powerful position in Russia. The third chapter (Lilia Shevstovo) analyses the deeper meaning of this shift from Yeltsin to Putin. The next three chapters (Yuri Fedorov, Roger E. Kanet and Nouray V. Ibryamova, and Isabelle Facon) try in various ways to outline the effect of this shift on the Russian throne on Russia's relations to the West and on the West itself.

The book was written in the immediate aftermath of the presidential election in March 2000, when little was known about Vladimir Putin and even less about his future policies. In this sense, the book constitutes a snapshot photograph of Russia and its relations to the West, immediately developed for the album. Certainly much more could be said about Putin and his rise to power than is dealt with in this anthology, and we trust that much more will be researched and said in the years to come.

Contents

Introduction

A comparison of the Russian presidential election campaigns of 1996 and 2000
Anna-Maria Nilsson and Bertil Nygren

Russia's 1999-2000 elections in the light of public opinion
Elena I. Bashkirova

The Russian political regime: from Yeltsin to Putln
Lilia Shevtsova

Putin's Russia and the West
Yuri E. Fedorov

The Russian presidential election and US-Russian relations
Roger E. Kanet and Nouray V Ibryamova

Putin's Russia and Europe: a new start?
Isabelle Facon