The Rhetorical Rise and Demise of “Democracy” in Russian Political Discourse, Volume 3

Download or read book The Rhetorical Rise and Demise of “Democracy” in Russian Political Discourse, Volume 3 written by David Cratis Williams and published by Academic Studies PRess. This book was released on 2024-02-20 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Volume Three of this four-volume series, we examine the rhetorical development that occurred during the first two terms of Vladimir Putin’s tenure as president of the Russian Federation. Initially, Putin appeared to follow in the path set by his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, vowing that Russia was, at heart, a European nation and would be a westward facing democracy going forward. He even mentioned partnering with the EU and NATO. Eight years later, at the 2007 Munich Security Conference, Putin excoriated the West for, in his words, attempting to create a “unipolar world” in which NATO expansion threatened Russia’s security, the United States acted as the world’s sole “hegemon,” and Europe simply followed orders, relinquishing any sense of agency in its own affairs.