Communication Between Cultures

Daniels summarizes the differences between U.S. and Russian formative historical

perspectives:

It is of greatest importance for Americans to appreciate how different was Russia’s interna-

tional environment from the circumstances of the young United States. Russia found itself

in a world of hostile neighbors, the United States in secure continental isolation. Living

under great threats and equally great

temptations, Russia had developed a

tradition of militarized absolutism that

put the highest priority on commit-

ting its meager resources to meet those

threats and exploit those

temptations.^30

Russia’s historical political heritage has helped mold the contemporary Russian

worldview. Esler depicts that heritage in the following:“Russia’s political tradition

has historically been autocratic, from the legacy of the Byzantine emperors and Tartar

khans, through the heavy-handed authoritarianism of Peter the Great, to the totali-

tarian regime of Joseph Stalin.”^31 To give you a fuller appreciation of the tradition of

Russia being governed by an autocratic, centralized government, a brief overview of

the establishment and development of the Russian state is provided.

Early historical records indicate that during the ninth century, a series of city-states

was established along the waterways of the western Russian plain, with Novgorod and

Kiev the most prominent. Princes ruled these city-states, and Kiev developed into a

major center of government until the late twelfth century, when political decay set in.

The arrival of the Mongols in 1240 brought about the final collapse of the Kievan

state. Although the Mongols maintained a military presence in Russia for well over

200 years, they were generally satisfied to rule from a distance as long as tribute

was rendered. Mongol rule was replaced in the fifteenth century by the rise and ulti-

mate establishment of a consolidated Russia governed from Moscow. From the early

sixteenth century until the Russian Revolution in 1917, the Russian peoples were

CONSIDER THIS

Can you think of examples to help explain the notion that Russia

remains in a transitional phase?

TABLE 5.2 Country Statistics: Russian Federation^32

LOCATION EUROPE AND NORTHERN ASIA

Size 17 ; 098 ;242 km^2 ; world’s largest country

Population 142.47 million (July 2014 est.); tenth-largest population

Ethnic groups Russian 77.7%, Tatar 3.7%, Ukrainian 1.4%, Bashkir 1.1%,

Chuvash 1%, Chechen 1%, other 10.2%, unspecified 3.9% (2010 est.)

Note: Over 190 ethnic groups represented in the 2010 census.

Government Federation

Language Russian (official) 96.3%, Dolgang 5.3%, German 1.5%, Chechen

1%, Tatar 3%, other 10.3%

Note: Total exceeds 100% due some people giving more than one

answer on census (2010 est.).

Religions Russian Orthodox 15% to 20%, Muslim 10% to 15%, other

Christian 2% (2006 est.)

Note: Estimates are of active worshippers; due to seventy years of

Soviet rule, there are large numbers of nonpracticing believers and

nonbelievers.

Contemporary Social Issues 169

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