Political Protest and Stability in Russia, 2012-2016

press release: A lecture by Regina Smyth, Associate Professor of Political Science, Indiana University

When: Thursday, October 6, 4:00 PM

(Refreshments starting at 3:45)

Where: Room 206 Ingraham Hall, 1155 Observatory Drive  

About the talk:

Many analysts see the 2011-2012 For Fair Elections protest movement as a minor challenge to the Putin regime. Yet, the movement left significant and unexpected legacies that have reshaped state-society relations. Most importantly, the transfer of resources and public appeals from the movement to the electoral arena provoked a dramatic renovation of the regime’s menu of manipulation designed to ensure victory for state-sponsored candidates and parties. This case provides important insights into the nature of contemporary autocracy and the ways in which autocrats can extend the life of the regime but it also illustrates the longer term implications of these actions.

About the speaker:

Professor Smyth's research explores political participation in contemporary autocracies with a focus on protest, voting, volunteerism, and other types of activism and complaint. Her work is based on original data collection that has been supported by the National Science Foundation, Social Science Research Council, Smith Richardson Foundation, and the National Council for Eurasian and East European Research. Her book Candidate Strategies and Electoral Competition in the Russian Federation: Democracy without Foundation (Cambridge 2006) explains the failure of Russian democracy in terms of the failure to produce a viable opposition to the state party in response to electoral competition. She has continued this work on Russian elections and political party formation, publishing papers on regional electoral competition and the role of legislative factions in the policy process. Smyth is currently completing a book length study of political protest in Russia.  Her ongoing project compares the effect of protest participation on civic activism in the Russian Federation, Ukraine, and Hong Kong. Professor Smyth's work has been published in the American Political Science Review, Europe Asia Studies, Russian Politics, Post-Soviet Affairs, Politics and Society, Comparative Politics, and Comparative Political Studies. She also serves as the Director of the Russian Studies Workshop at IU.