Country Report (Research Paper Sample)

Name Course Affiliation Professor A Country Report on Political, Economic and Social factors. Introduction In the world today, there are 195 countries in total. Just like all human beings, each of these countries has a history; a story of how it came to be. Some tell of a scramble for partition while others were an agreement that unified thousands of people and wrapped them up in the spirit of patriotism. Each country stands out and in this diversity like we humans, some countries appear look for trouble while others don’t. this is the reason why this report will focus on the one country that has made the headline for months now- Russia. Concepts This report will clearly analyse Russia’s evolution in terms of its democracy, comparative politics, elections, economy and culture. All of these will be based on the concepts and theories such as modernization theory, transition, reaction and collective action on the political, economic and cultural ways of Russia. With this, everyone will understand the journey that Russia took to be the power country it is today and its impact to other countries. Democratic/ Comparative Politics/Elections A walk down the Russian political memory lane and one might wonder if the country is always looking for chances to stir up trouble. Every leader has turned out to be unfair and inconsiderate to Russians leading to their overthrowal. The fact remains that for modernization to thrive in such a country, both the leaders and the commoners should identify a gap for development and see that for modernization to thrive, it starts with great leadership. While it is true that this was recognized a number of times, it only came into existence after the people had suffered a crisis in the hands of their leaders. The population therefore suffered great losses due to a decline in their living standards. Over the years, Russia has held elections for parliamentary and leadership seats. Most of these have backfired on them with electing leaders with poor leadership skill or leaders whose priorities did not align with the citizen’s expectations. For example, right now, under Putin's administration, elections in Russia have not been free and fair. Political opponents are imprisoned and harassed, the independent media is intimidated and controlled, and election fraud is prevalent. This is because it mixes authoritarian and democratic institutions, political scientists refer to Russia's political system as "competitive authoritarianism" or a hybrid regime. Economic Report Russia has for so long held its title as the world’s greatest supplier of fuel energy. With this said, Russia has for a number of times become a major contributor to fluctuating inflation and resource shortages for exports to other countries in the world. This countries backbone has been held firmly through exportation of goods and services which has ultimately raised its GDP over the years. With each war, Russia suffers massive property destruction and inefficient supply of resource. From military logistics to basic necessities, Russia’s economy suffers major blows during such periods. This ha again led to the citizens leading a revolution to overthrow the government just to save their lives and restore them. The first economic revolution in Russia was done after the Russians suffered immensely during World War I. this was a turn around moment for them back in 1917 that saw their leader Nicholas II as unfit to rule. Together with the military, they decided to revolt against the Tsar till he gave up his sit at the throne. Afterwards, the government was under two political partis, the Petrograd and the Soviet Union. The first one representing the Provisional Government while the other protected the rights of workers as well as soldiers. Despite some efforts by the Russian government to invest and create a good industrialization environment in Russia, the country still stands as unfavorable for such. This has ailed the economy greatly and made Russian a backward country. In turn made the country has lost its industrial power which was set as a way to overcome the agrarian society that once existed. Culture Report Since time immemorial, Russia has upheld a rich culture in terms in literature, art(paintings), ballet and classical music. All these came about due to the country’s national history, its geographical location and its expanse and transition to modernity over time. For example, today’s Russian folklore is still dependent and upholds the Soviet Union’s golden age practice that was done in the 1920s. Russian culture is more or less linked to both Asian and European cultures. It all came about due to the interactions and influence the Byzantine Empire had on Russia. They were great traders with Russia and one thing led to another an...