The Colour Revolutions in the Former Soviet Republics: Successes and Failures (Routledge Contemporary Russia and Eastern Europe Series)
Donnacha Ó Beacháin
Language: English
Pages: 272
ISBN: 0415625475
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
During the first decade of the 21st century, a remarkable phenomenon swept through the former Soviet Union changing the political, social and cultural landscape. Popularly known as the ‘Colour Revolutions’, these non-violent protests overthrew autocratic regimes in three post-soviet republics: the Georgian Rose Revolution (2003), the Ukrainian Orange Revolution (2004) and the Kyrgyzstani Tulip Revolution (2005). This book examines the significance of these regime-change processes for the post-soviet world in particular and for global politics in the 21st century.
Engaging comprehensively with the former Soviet republics, the contributors to this book ask why there wasn’t a revolution in a post-Soviet republic such as Russia, despite apparently favourable conditions. They also explore the circumstances that ensured some post-soviet countries underwent a successful colour revolution whilst others did not. Identifying the conditions for successful colour revolutions, this book asks whether there is a revolutionary blueprint that may be exported to other areas around the world that are under autocratic rule. Carefully considering the ideologies of the post-Soviet ruling regimes, this book demonstrates the manner by which political elites integrated nationalism, authoritarianism and populism into public debates. It analyzes the diverse anti-regime movements, discussing the factors that led to the rise of such factions and outlining how these opposition groups were constituted and operated. In addition, it assesses the impact of external forces including the influence of the USA, the EU and Russia. By examining the colour revolution phenomenon in its entirety, this book marks a significant contribution to both our micro and macro understanding of this tide of transformation.
A Concise History of Russia (Cambridge Concise Histories)
Forgotten Land: Journeys Among the Ghosts of East Prussia
The Bolshevik Revolution: 1917-1923, Volume 3 (A History of Soviet Russia)
or English and of course there were deeper implications attached to this choice – namely which set of values to follow? During the Shevardnadze period reforms lagged behind, especially in the department of justice, energy and education. Both people in the street and NGO leaders were worried by the rampant corruption. ‘What can we expect from a society up to its neck in a bog?’ (Companjen 2004: 288). This feeling was widespread and people openly put their hopes on the next generation because the
Yanukovych in 2004 was considerable. It comprised the People’s Power Coalition of Yulia Tymoshenko and Viktor Yushchenko, the Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the Socialist Party and civic groups, and had sufficient financial resources to mount a serious campaign. Yushchenko also had the backing of the West, whose media portrayed him and his orange camp in a very favourable light. He did not, of course, benefit from the support of Ukraine’s powerful neighbour to the North, Russia, and
Mukachevo in March 2004 radicalized the youth movements further when it became clear that only direct action could prevent the falsification and stealing of the autumn presidential elections. This direct action would primarily take the form of monitoring (in addition to the international community) the election campaign as well as organizing protests against fraud and intimidation. Youth movements were originally intended to be non-partisan but they became increasingly associated with the
Kyrgyzstan 53 the traditionally politically quiescent Issyk-kul province, and the other was in Kochkor in Naryn province. In Tyup, Sadyr Japarov was deregistered in a contest in which a relative of the Akaev family was reportedly participating; in Ton, Aslanbek Maliev was deregistered, and in Kochkor, Akylbek Japarov (no relation to Sadyr Japarov) was deregistered in a contest against former Communist Party head Turdakun Usubaliev. These were essentially local disputes, but they provoked
influenced individual attitudes towards democratization and governance. The maintenance of these attitudes and the fostering of this European identity have been key to Moldova’s politics since 2005, and the continuing fostering of such an identity will play a key role in the future of Moldova. Moldova 79 Notes 1 Personal interview with Lucinschi, 22 January 2007. 2 See March (2006) for more details on the PCRM’s comeback and the factors that led to it. 3 The parties were: the PCRM, the CDPP,