Seemingly worried about recent trends in Russian government policies that call into question freedom of speech and private property, Anatoly Chubais–a pioneer of Russian economic reforms–suddenly declared this September that the government was unduly influenced by the ideas of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. A few weeks later, Chubais' pronouncement received unexpected confirmation by a televised meeting between President Vladimir Putin and the dissident writer. Apparently, President Putin is in search of a political identity and ideological legitimation. In the absence of realistic alternatives, Solzhenitsyn's ideology may indeed become a principal element of the emerging Russian identity–not only at the governmental level, but also for society. […]
Memo #:
150
Series:
1
PDF:
PDF URL:
http://www.gwu.edu/~ieresgwu/assets/docs/ponars/pm_0150.pdf
