The Rhetorical Rise and Demise of "Democracy" in Russian Political Discourse, Volume Three

David Cratis Williams is recently retired Professor of Communication and Rhetorical Studies at Florida Atlantic University. His scholarship focuses on argumentation, rhetorical theory, and criticism; he is a recognized authority on Kenneth Burke. His work on Russian political discourse began during a meeting in Russia in January 1992. Marilyn J. Young is the Wayne C. Minnick Professor of Communication Emerita at Florida State University. Her research has focused on political argument with an emphasis on the development of political rhetoric and argument in the former Soviet Union, particularly Russia. She remains an active scholar in retirement. Michael K. Launer is Professor Emeritus of Russian at Florida State University. In 1987 he interpreted for the first group of Soviet scientists visiting the United States following the Chernobyl nuclear accident. A State Department certified technical interpreter, he supported Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Department of Energy assistance programs through 2012.

Contents

List of Photos

Acknowledgements

Contributors

Note to Readers







Preface




Introduction to Volume Three






Part One: Initial Considerations




1.The Rhetorical Sources of Putin’s Evolving Governance Philosophy




Alexander Panarin




Alexander Dugin, 2017




Alexander Dugin, undated




Lev Gumilev—Passionarity Party




Lev Gumilev and Anna Akhmatova




Statue of Lev Gumilev




2.Strategic Goals Underpinning the Struggle to Maintain a Slavic Majority in Russia:

Putin, Compatriots, and Fellow Countrymen

3.The Sinking of the Kursk: A Soviet Response to a Russian Tragedy




The Kursk Nuclear Submarine




4.The Political Lexicon of Putin the “Democrat”




Part Two: Redefinition of the Russian Nation




The Russian Tricolor




The Russian Coat of Arms




The Russian Armed Forces Flag




5.New/Old Russian Symbols as Arguments for Identity Transformation:

Reviving Ghosts Is a Tricky Business




Vladimir Putin and Boris Yeltsin, 1999




6.Reconstituting the Body Politic: Yeltsin, Putin, and the Struggle

for Russian (Self-)Identity

7.Identification, Division, and Consubstantiality Between:

A Burkean Assessment of Political Transformations in Post-Soviet Russia

8.Russian National Identity as Argument Construction: An Assessment

of Political Transformations in Russia

9.Argumentation, Globalization, and the New Nationalism:

Implications and New Directions




Part Three: “Democracy in Action” or “Democracy Inaction”




10.Argumentation and Education: Preparing Citizens

in Cultures of Democratic Communication

11.Liberty vs. Security in Putin’s “Managed Democracy”: Back to the Future?

12.The Role of Communication in Political Transition: A Review Essay

13.Definition and Political (Un)change: The State of Political Rhetoric

in Putin’s Russia

14.The Authoritarian Turn: Vladimir Putin’s 2005 Presidential Address

to the Federal Assembly

15.Citizen Putin: Presidential Argument and the Invitation

to (Democratic) Citizenship




Part Four: International Relations




Alexei Salmin




16.Foreign Policy Challenges and the Historical “Anchors” of Russian Federation

Foreign Policy after September 11, 2001




Vladimir Putin and George Bush, 2001




Vladimir Putin at the UN




17.Managing “Democracy” in the Age of Terrorism: Putin, Bush,

and Arguments from Definition




Viktor Yushchenko, 2004




Viktor Yanukovich, 2004




18.Presidential Rhetoric on a National and International Scale:

The Ukrainian Presidency through the Lens of Russian and Ukrainian Politics




Vladimir Putin and Robert Gates, 2007





Angela Merkel in Munich, 2007




Robert Gates, John McCain, and Joseph Lieberman with Angela Merkel, 2007




Robert Gates, John McCain, and Joseph Lieberman with Vladimir Putin, 2007




Robert Gates, John McCain, and Joseph Lieberman in Conversation, 2007




19.Rhetorical and Argumentative Strategies in Putin’s 2007 Munich Speech




Afterword




Vladimir Putin and Dmitri Medvedev







Bibliography




Index