Authoritarian Leadership

To begin this discussion, let us first define the key terms needed. Authoritarian is a "type of government which the ruler demand unquestioning obedience from its people" that they govern.(Macmillan 30). In other words, the people who are being ruled, have no choice but to be obedient to their leader even if they do not agree with him or her. While democracy can be defined in Greek as "rule by the people." In other words, it is based on the people's votes, where the majority votes wins, whereas, if an election is to be held, with regards to a decision, for example capital punishment, if majority of the voters agree to it, then capital punishment will take effect as a means of punishing criminals.

Usually, the Executive which is said to reflect a semi-presidential system, has two main roles where the president is elected directly by the people and the Prime Minister appointed by the president. This is evident in post-communist Russia, when President Putin was elected by the people in adult suffrage elections. This system creates "a certain amount of tension between the president and the prime minister, especially if they do not share the same political party or the same political ideas." (Munroe 91). This is evident when Voloshin resigned while Yeltsin was in power and was later reappointed by Putin after Yeltsin had resigned.

Post communist Russia is deemed as being more authoritarian than democratic as its governmental style has more characteristics of that of authoritarian, where its president has more power than other official posts in its society. The structure of the Post communist Russia differs significantly from that of the former soviet union. It has been characterized by a power struggle between the executive and the legislature branches, primarily over issues of constitutional authority and the pace and direction of democratic and economic reform. Conflicts started in September 2003, when President Yeltsin dissolved the Russian parliament (the Congress of People Deputies and the Supreme Soviet). Parliamentary members and their colleagues revolted and were overthrown only through military intervention.

According to Munroe, the "executive in most post-communist states reflects a semi presidential system, perhaps most similar in the Western world to France."

In December 1993 a new constitution put forward by Yeltsin was approved in a nationwide referendum, and representatives were elected to a new legislature. Because of

the presidential constitution, it gives extensive powers to the president. The executive

branch dominates the legislative and judicial branches, and both presidents have exercised wide ranging powers over all threes branches. They have usually used as their main instrument the Presidential Administration. This is a complicated organization that aims through complex methods of political and financial influence to ensure that the

"cabinet of ministers prepares the draft legislation desired by the president, the parliament then adopts this legislation without introducing changes undesirable to the president, the court system renders judgments in cases where the president has an interest in the outcome that accord with his wishes." (Brittanica.com)

In addition, the Presidential Administration plays a key role in controlling and censoring the media, especially the national television channels, in trying to ensure that the president's will and policies are implemented in Russia's eighty-nine federal regions, and in controlling as far as possible Russia's nascent civil society. It also interferes in the business world, indirectly mediating major disputes, indirectly granting favours to some companies and penalizing others. At the same time, it and the Cabinet of Ministers interact with business regularly on the political level. In this way , business has exerted a major influence on government policy, more blatantly in Yeltsin tenure, less blatantly, but still substantially under Putin.

The new constitution provides for welfare protection, access to social security, pensions, free health care, and affordable housing. At the same time, it considerably reduced the status of the regions and made all regions subject to central authorities. In 2000, the Russian central government assigned each of the country's provinces and autonomous republics, regions and districts to one of seven new federal districts. These districts were intended to enable the central government to control and monitor these constituent units , and they confirmed the supremacy of the central government over the regions.

Given the multiplicity of important roles, it is not surprising that the head of the presidential administration and the president are usually regarded as the two most powerful figures in Russia's government. This was especially during the four and a half years from March 1999, when Yeltsin appointed Alexander Voloshin to the head of the Presidential Administration, and October 2003, when Voloshin resigned from that position. He was reappointed by Putin after Yeltsin resigned in December 1999, and provided continuity from one presidency to the next.

If I am wrong in agreeing that post communist Russia is more authoritarian than democratic, then I may agree that it has an indirect democracy characteristics, where the people play a limited role in making decisions, such as in the passing of laws, between elections. Between elections the politicians rule, not in any supreme sense because