View Specification DocumentCEES 2A: Post-communist Russia and the Former Soviet Union CEES2010
- Academic Session: 2026-27
- School: School of Social and Political Sciences
- Credits: 20
- Level: Level 2 (SCQF level 8)
- Typically Offered: Semester 1
- Available to Visiting Students: Yes
- Collaborative Online International Learning: No
- Curriculum For Life: No
Short Description
This is a 20-credit level 2 course offered by CEES which explores aspects of political, social and economic change in Russia and the Former Soviet Union following the collapse of communism
Timetable
Three one-hour lectures (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday) and a one hour tutorial weekly.
Requirements of Entry
20 credits at D or above in one Level 1 course taught in SPS, History (Arts), or Russian
Assessment
Annotated bibliography (40%)
Essay (50%)
Tutorial performance (10%)
Tutorial performance is assessed according to a set of criteria (attendance, prep, understanding, participation and
argument) full details located in course handbook.
Course Aims
This course aims to demonstrate:
■ the reasons for the collapse of the communist system in the Soviet Union and its consequences, with a specific focus on Russia, Belarus, the Baltic states, Central Asia, Caucasus and Ukraine.
■ the geopolitical consequences of the demise of the Soviet Union, and the subsequent reordering of global economic and geopolitical space
■ the nature of socio-economic changes in the region in the 1990s, and how different social groups responded to them
■ cultural change, with a focus on identity politics, gender and ethnicity
■ the political management of ethno-culturally diverse territories, and the renegotiation of national and ethnic identities
■ the importance of the region for Europe as a whole, including a focus on Russia and the Baltic states' relations with the new enlarged Europe
Intended Learning Outcomes of Course
By the end of this course students will be able to:
■ analyse the political, social, economic and cultural heritage of the FSU with a view to understanding the particular nature of systemic change and development
■ apply comparative analytical skills necessary for cross cultural analysis
■ utilise the various theories of historical development and how the region can be analysed using concepts of state and society, the collective and the individual, ethnicity, gender and identity
■ extract relevant information from the reading regarding social, economic and political change
■ identify and use key concepts related to the process of transition, as related to political, territorial and socio-economic change
■ explain the complexities governing the possible integration of the region into the wider Europe and the forces that determine this process