Post-Soviet Authoritarianism: The Influence of Russia in Its "Near Abroad"

Abstract: After the demise of the Soviet Union and the Communist-dominated regimes of central and eastern Europe, democratic polities were created and consolidated in a number of post-Communist countries. But in others – most notably, the non-Baltic post-Soviet states – the process of democratization never started or, if it did, stalled at some point and the countries evolved into hybrid regimes that combined, in varying mixes, elements of democratic and authoritarian politics. Building on Levitsky and Way (2010a), this article considers the extent to which and means by which Russia, by far the largest and most powerful of the post-Soviet states, influenced the consolidation of authoritarian politics and erosion of democratic politics in the other non-Baltic post-Soviet states. After noting the substantial erosion in rights, liberties and democratic politics that has occurred in Russia over the past two decades, the article suggests the asymmetries in size and power that favor Russia, coupled with its extensive cultural, economic, and security linkages with the other states, not only provide it with leverage vis-à-vis those states in the pursuit of its interests but also legitimize and reinforce the authoritarian elements in their polities, reduce the incentives for their leaders to strengthen the democratic elements, and in