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.

“In this important volume Professors Williams, Young, and Launer undertake thorough and comprehensive studies of the rhetorical, argumentative, and media strategies that Vladimir Putin has employed in an attempt to shape Russian identity and to relaunch and rehabilitate the Russian empire. The work deepens our understanding of Russian culture, history, politics, and media systems and helps explain Putin’s goals, resentments, and ambitions. Chapters include foundational theoretical examinations of Russian symbols and key terms and case studies of discourse created to manage public crises and controversies. The volume is of course urgently important today given the war in Ukraine and the open confrontation between Putin’s Russia and the Western democratic alliance.” —Thomas Hollihan, University of Southern California "Williams, Young, and Launer's third volume is a tour de force in its skillful unpacking of Putin's definitional shifts and reconfiguring of the lexicon of Russian ‘democracy.’ Using the tools of rhetorical criticism and argumentation, the authors offer a compelling case for the ways in which Putin's public discourse both reflects and helps construct the movement from a national identity embracing democratic norms to an increasingly authoritative state."— J. Robert Cox, Professor Emeritus, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill“This much anticipated third volume of a long-standing collaborative project gathers an expansive and revealing rhetorical archive to provide insight into the discursive forces fueling Russia’s gradual abandonment of the project of liberal democratization. In four sections covering the years between 2000 and 2008, the authors explore the philosophical and political exigencies that shaped President Vladimir Putin’s attitudes toward the West, the rhetorical production of Russian national identity in the transition from Yeltsin to Putin’s leadership, Russia’s evolving communication culture as a structural backdrop for its political development, as well as the reorganization of the county’s foreign policy. In each chapter, the reader encounters consistent effort at historical contextualization, painstaking application of rhetorical and argumentation theory, and an impressive body of primary materials that add up to a forceful explication and critique of Russia's slide toward authoritarianism.” — Zornitsa D. Keremidchieva, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Communication Studies, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

• ContentsList of PhotosAcknowledgementsContributorsNote to ReadersPrefaceIntroduction to Volume ThreePart One: Initial Considerations1.The Rhetorical Sources of Putin’s Evolving Governance PhilosophyAlexander PanarinAlexander Dugin, 2017Alexander Dugin, undatedLev Gumilev—Passionarity PartyLev Gumilev and Anna AkhmatovaStatue of Lev Gumilev2.Strategic Goals Underpinning the Struggle to Maintain a Slavic Majority in Russia: Putin, Compatriots, and Fellow Countrymen3.The Sinking of the Kursk: A Soviet Response to a Russian TragedyThe Kursk Nuclear Submarine4.The Political Lexicon of Putin the “Democrat”Part Two: Redefinition of the Russian NationThe Russian TricolorThe Russian Coat of ArmsThe Russian Armed Forces Flag5.New/Old Russian Symbols as Arguments for Identity Transformation: Reviving Ghosts Is a Tricky BusinessVladimir Putin and Boris Yeltsin, 19996.Reconstituting the Body Politic: Yeltsin, Putin, and the Strugglefor Russian (Self-)Identity7.Identification, Division, and Consubstantiality Between:A Burkean Assessment of Political Transformations in Post-Soviet Russia8.Russian National Identity as Argument Construction: An Assessmentof Political Transformations in Russia9.Argumentation, Globalization, and the New Nationalism: Implications and New DirectionsPart Three: “Democracy in Action” or “Democracy Inaction”10.Argumentation and Education: Preparing Citizens in Cultures of Democratic Communication11.Liberty vs. Security in Putin’s “Managed Democracy”: Back to the Future?12.The Role of Communication in Political Transition: A Review Essay13.Definition and Political (Un)change: The State of Political Rhetoricin Putin’s Russia14.The Authoritarian Turn: Vladimir Putin’s 2005 Presidential Addressto the Federal Assembly15.Citizen Putin: Presidential Argument and the Invitationto (Democratic) CitizenshipPart Four: International RelationsAlexei Salmin16.Foreign Policy Challenges and the Historical “Anchors” of Russian Federation Foreign Policy after September 11, 2001Vladimir Putin and George Bush, 2001Vladimir Putin at the UN17.Managing “Democracy” in the Age of Terrorism: Putin, Bush,and Arguments from DefinitionViktor Yushchenko, 2004Viktor Yanukovich, 200418.Presidential Rhetoric on a National and International Scale:The Ukrainian Presidency through the Lens of Russian and Ukrainian PoliticsVladimir Putin and Robert Gates, 2007Angela Merkel in Munich, 2007Robert Gates, John McCain, and Joseph Lieberman with Angela Merkel, 2007Robert Gates, John McCain, and Joseph Lieberman with Vladimir Putin, 2007Robert Gates, John McCain, and Joseph Lieberman in Conversation, 200719.Rhetorical and Argumentative Strategies in Putin’s 2007 Munich SpeechAfterwordVladimir Putin and Dmitri MedvedevBibliographyIndex