VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1, JANUARY 2007

LITVINENKO AND AFTER

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

The last couple of months Surrey stockbroker belt in (son of the president

have been a busy time for Rus- 2001. Litvinenko had claimed who had himself been LITVINENKO AND sia-watchers. Not for reasons that the Kremlin itself was 1-2 blown up in 2004), had AFTER we would necessarily have behind the bombings of apart- made no secret of their chosen. It certainly meant a lot ment buildings in 1999 that wish to see her out of by Stephen White of media attention – I made led to the invasion of Chech- the way. They aren’t Channel 4 News and Irish ra- nya, and which allowed Putin normally very scrupu- dio, talked to Canadian televi- to ride to victory as a man of lous in how they achieve 2-3 CONFERENCE sion and New Zealand radio, action early the following year. their objectives – Kady- REPORT and did a short piece – the He had certainly done the rov keeps a tiger in his basis for what follows – for the Kremlin no favours. And who, by Anke Schmidt-Felzman home, and his irregulars Sunday Post. Not that I know outside a government scien- have taken to displaying more about Polonium 210 tific laboratory, could hope to the severed heads of than anyone else, but there get hold of Polonium 210? their opponents on were and still are questions But there are other theories. stakes around local vil- PUBLICATIONS 3 about the impact of the poi- Consider, for instance, the lages. If Litvinenko had soning on East-West relations, Chechen scenario. Litvinenko been making progress in A POSTCARD FROM and on the configuration of 4 was investigating the killing of his inquiries, perhaps a LONDON power in the Kremlin. Politkovskaya. The Chechen lot of progress, wouldn’t Russia attracts attention for all authorities, particularly prime they have wanted him CONFERENCE AND 4 sorts of reasons. Some good minister Ramzan Kadyrov out of the way as well? WORKSHOP PLANS ones, like vodka. But also for Continued page 2 other ones. What has been GRADUATE NEWS 4 happening over recent weeks is not a particularly happy ex- PERSONAL 4 ample. The poisoning of Alex- ander Litvinenko followed the ACADEMIC NET- 5 murder of journalist Anna WORKS Politkovskaya at the start of October, and several high- FIELDTRIPS 5 profile killings in the business and banking world. More than PROJECTS 6 a dozen journalists have now lost their lives since Putin GRADUATE PRO- 6 came to power six years ago; GRESS the killers, typically, are never found. PRESENTATIONS 6 Litvinenko can now be added to this grisly list. He was a WHO WE ARE AND 6 friend of Boris Berezovsky, the Above: Alexander Litvinenko (from bbc.co.uk). WHAT WE DO Kremlin’s leading opponent, who fled to political exile in the VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1 Page 2

LITVINENKO AND AFTER

Continued from page 1 they find it hard to get hold need to be worried about , where the unrecog- been obliged to accept of a deadly poison through where Moscow is going. nised Dniester republic has the Kremlin’s direction or sympathisers, or just for The most obvious cause also voted in favour of a un- (in Khodorkovsky’s case) money, in a government for concern is Russia’s ion with Russia? Why, Rus- go to jail. laboratory? new assertiveness on the sians might argue, should Many Russians have international scene, and these small territories be Actually, a murky murder welcomed what we used its use of natural re- denied the right of national is the last thing the Kremlin to call the ‘smack of firm sources as a political self-determination that we wants at the moment. government’. Putin him- weapon. Already, more are so keen about in other They’re trying to clean up self is immensely popular. than a quarter of our oil cases? their international image in Living standards have and gas comes from Rus- all kinds of ways – through Perhaps the biggest worries been rising all round, on sia. How could the West a sort of Russian CNN, for are about the direction of the back of high oil maintain an independent instance, and by inviting travel of the political system prices. But central con- foreign policy if not just Western scholars and jour- itself. As communist rule trol, if it’s taken too far, the supply, but the com- nalists to a country house ended, it seemed Russia was can silence other voices. panies themselves, were near Moscow for an ex- joining the ‘other democra- A government that has no in the hands of a foreign tended opportunity to dis- cies’. But in all kinds of ways risk of exposure in the country – Russia or any- cuss anything they want Putin has strengthened cen- media has less reason to one else? with the Russian president tral control to an extent that be honest, or even com- (very much what Valentina There are other con- might almost seem Soviet. petent. And a court sys- is writing about in her dis- cerns about Russian ac- The regions have been tem that is manipulated sertation). And would they tions in its immediate brought into line. The media, by politicians gives no- have wanted anything of vicinity. They intervened, above all national television, one any guarantee of this kind on the eve of a clumsily and unsuccess- have been taken over directly their personal safety, let summit with the European fully, in ’s presi- or indirectly by the state. And alone their property. It’s a Union, and a NATO summit dential election. What if businessmen like Mikhail lesson we teach our first that was being held not far they intervened else- Khodorkovsky, who looked year politics students. away, in Riga? where, for instance in as if they might challenge the Perhaps we should be Georgia, where a rebel Kremlin and even seek telling the Russians as So I don’t think the Krem- province has just de- power at the presidential well? lin is behind it; but that clared its wish to leave election in 2008 at which doesn’t mean we don’t Stephen White and join them? Or in Putin must stand down, have

CONFERENCE REPORT

This autumn, Valentina, the EU and the Katsu, Anke and Stephen “Outsiders”’ – this was attended the UACES Annual Katsu’s first ever confer- Conference, ‘Exchanging ence presentation and he Ideas on Europe’, at the valiantly overcame his University of Limerick, 31 fears and did a brilliant job August – 2 September in presenting his paper 2006. Katsu and Stephen and answering a number both gave papers in the of quite provocative ques- panel on ‘Political Values in tions from the audience! the New Europe’ while Stephen was last in the Valentina and Anke sat at- panel to present his joint tentively in the audience. paper with Julia Koros- They listened to the presen- televa and Ian McAllister tation by Galina Bogutcaia entitled ‘Are Russians of the paper that Galina co- Europeans?’. A ‘special wrote with Anke and Giselle event’ at this panel was Boss. This was followed by the launch of a special Above: from left to right, Sirke Mäkinen, Karolina Pomorska (Loughborough Univer- Katsu’s presentation on issue of Contemporary sity/University of Maastricht), Giselle Bosse (University of Aberystywth), Derek Hutcheson (University College Dublin), Valentina and Anke. ‘Participation and Protest in Politics (Issue 12, June Continued on page 3 VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1, JANUARY 2007 Page 3

CONFERENCE REPORT

Continued from page 2 2006, already advertised in the previous of an Enemy or Image of a Friend? November. He also attended a Newsletter) on The New Europe and the International Images as a Factor in conference in Kyiv in early October ‘Outsiders’: Is There a Values Gap? EU-Russia Relations’ that Valentina on ‘strategic elites and European (guest edited by Derek Hutcheson and co-presented with Sirke Mäkinen enlargement’; the paper is due to Elena Korosteleva). It contains articles from the University of Tampere (who appear in a local sociology journal, by Katsu on ‘Participation and protest in spent a few months as a visiting Sotsiologiya. He lectured in Dublin the and the “outsider” researcher with us in and St Andrews, and (as noted states’, by Stephen and Julia on spring/summer 2005). above) at the UACES conference at ‘“Feeling European”: the view from Bela- the end of August. Anke Schmidt-Felzman rus, Russia and Ukraine’ and an article Bill Miller was another participant by Anke (co-written with Giselle Bosse OTHER CONFERENCE NEWS in the AAASS conference, present- and Galina Bogutcaia) entitled ‘Lost in ing a paper jointly with Clare Translation? Political Elites and the In- Stephen took part in a conference McManus-Czubinska of the De- terpretative Values Gap in European at Cambridge in early September partment of Central and East Euro- Neighbourhood Policies’. with a paper on ‘communist nostal- gia’, using survey data for Russia, pean Studies. Anke and Valentina organised another Ukraine and (it will appear Valentina gave another paper at panel at the conference on ‘The EU and in a volume edited by David Lane a seminar on ‘Images of Russia in its Eastern Neighbourhood: Visions and next year, and in Russian in Mir Europe - Voices from Germany, Interests in Conflict?’, chaired by Derek, Rossii). He contributed a paper on France and Poland’ that was or- which was well attended and received a Belarusian and Ukrainian interna- ganized by the Stiftung Genshagen good response from the audience – it tional orientations to a conference and held in the castle of Gensha- was even mentioned at the conference on Belarus in Warsaw in mid- gen near Berlin (Germany) on No- dinner by Sir John Kerr of Kinlochard, November (the papers will appear in vember 29 – December 1. She who professed himself very interested in English, Russian and Belarusian), also attended a conference on the the issues that had been raised. He and presented the same paper to same topic that followed the semi- particularly praised the paper on ‘Image the AAASS in Washington DC in late nar.

PUBLICATIONS

Stephen’s new book (with Roy Allison and Margot Light) came out at the end of October, entitled Putin’s Russia and the Enlarged Europe (Blackwell/Chatham House). There was a major launch event at Chatham House with a speech by Lord (William) Wallace, who is the Lib Dem spokesman on foreign affairs in the Lords, fol- lowed by questions and answers from a large audience. At their invitation, SW contributed a related op-ed to the respected Russian daily, Kommersant. A coauthored text, Politics in Europe, came out in August with CQ Press (Chris Carman is another contributor), and Developments in Central and East European Politics 4 (co-edited with Judy Batt and Paul Lewis, Palgrave and Duke) has just gone to the publishers and should be out in the spring. Party Politics in New Democracies (Oxford, co-edited with Paul Webb) should be out Jane and Bill’s book, The Open Economy and Its Enemies: Pub- later in the year. But Stephen is spending most lic Attitudes in East Asia and Eastern Europe (Cambridge, of his time trying to finish his big more-than-a- 2006, see above) was published in December. It presents the textbook for OUP, which should have been deliv- results of their 2002-05 ESRC project, ‘Attitudes Toward Open- ered in 2003… ness in East Asia and East Europe.

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1

Page 4

A POSTCARD FROM LONDON

Yulia writes: It has been enrolled on the Certifi- business planning to fi- plan myself. I find it very four months since I left cate of Learning and nancing and marketing. stimulating and useful for Glasgow to embark on a Teaching in Higher Edu- To make it interesting I what I teach, as I feel I can new, challenging and cation course. Teaching have embarked on the share my first-hand experi- fascinating journey of is like two sides of one 2007 London Entrepre- ence in this field with stu- discovering the profes- coin - you teach and learn neurs Challenge Competi- dents. I very much enjoy my sional world of academia simultaneously! One of tion, jointly run by the new academic life. I wish I at SSEES, UCL. I should the courses that I am University College Lon- could have 48 hours to admit the beginning was teaching - Entrepreneur- don, London Business spend more time on re- tough. I spent this term ship and Corporate Gov- School and Lodestone search, which is currently teaching 1st-3rd year BA ernance - has a very prac- Innovation Partnership, to possible only during the va- students, supervising and tical dimension and go through the whole cation breaks. Using this marking final-year BA among other things cov- process from coming up opportunity, I wish you all a dissertations and being a ers the main phases of with a business idea to Merry Christmas and a student myself, while business start-up from developing a business Happy New Year!

CONFERENCE & WORKSHOP PLANS

Valentina and Anke were busy this autumn putting together a couple of applications for conferences and a workshop. They submitted two panel proposals for the BASEES conference at Cambridge, 31 March-2 April 2007, one on ‘Russia and the West – Difficult Relations in a Changing Political Environment’, where Anke will be presenting a paper on EU- Russia relations and Valentina will be acting as discussant. The second panel will be on ‘New Old Russia? Traditions, Images and Perceptions in Russian Politics’ - Valentina will be presenting a paper on the role of image-making in Rus- sian-UK relations and Katsu will discuss the tradition of having a strong central figure at the top of the Russian political authority; Anke act as discussant, and both panels will be chaired by Stephen. Valentina and Anke also submitted at the end of October an application to UACES for funding of a workshop on ‘Security of Energy Supply in the New Europe: A Challenge for the EU’s Neighbourhood Policy' which will take place at Glasgow University in September 2007 and will bring together young researchers from the UK and PhD students based in Spain, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands. They heard in December that their application had been approved; there will also be some support from the Department.

GRADUATE NEWS

Congratulations to Mer- has just had an article for European studies at Guohui is now revising vyn Bain, whose book on accepted for Europe-Asia University College Dublin. his dissertation and plans Soviet-Cuban relations Studies. to submit by Summer And congratulations also (based on his PhD) has 2007. He presented a Younhee Kang has also to Ariel, who has had pa- just appeared with Lex- paper to the Department had a revised version of pers accepted for presen- ington Books. in May and has been also her PhD, on the Soviet tation to the Centre for writing a paper that he And to Atsushi Ogushi, Communist Party during International Politics Post- plans to submit to a Chi- who has signed a con- the period of the First Five graduate Conference at the nese studies journal. He, tract for his book on the Year Plan, accepted by in Tom, Daniel and Ariel are demise of the CPSU Routledge. January 2007 and to the planning a panel on based on his PhD, and Political Studies Associa- Congratulations to Derek China for the PSA Gradu- has just had an article tion’s Annual Conference in Hutcheson, who has just ate Network conference accepted for Europe-Asia taken over responsibility Bath in April 2007. in late May.

PERSONAL

Congratulations of a different kind to our PhD Clelia Rontoyanni, who got married in Athens in August and has just taken up a new high-level post at the World Bank in Washington DC. ACADEMIC NETWORKS Page 5

Sarah was in Kyiv in July to take part in a programme on Establishing Media Literacy in Post-Communist Universities (funded by the Soros Foundation). The programme brought together 25 academics from the former Communist sphere to attend lectures and discuss central issues in teaching political communication. Sarah taught a one-week, intensive course in media and society. The participants, who came from places as diverse as and Bosnia, discussed and debated various concepts in the political communication sphere, ranging from the role of media in post-communist elections to the performance of the media in conflict situations. Overall, it was both a humbling and enlightening experience to discuss these concepts with people who had lived through so much political turmoil, both as individuals and as academics. The project will continue for the next two years, with Sarah returning to Lviv this summer to lead a seminar on political communication research methods. The Media Literacy programme is a joint project of Towson University (Maryland, USA) and the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, a lead- ing post-Soviet university. One of the outcomes of the project has been plans for the Academy to apply (with Glasgow as a mentor) for European Union funding to improve the Ukrainian university’s post-graduate research programme in the social sciences. In addition, project participant Danijela Majstorovic visited the Politics department in November to present her film on sex trafficking in Bosnia. Valentina and Anke have joined the UACES-BASEES network on EU-Russia relations that is run by Professor Graham Timmins of Stirling University and Jackie Gower of Kings College London. They will assist the two organisers with the administration of the website that is soon to be launched and will also be involved in the organisation of the events that are being planned for 2007/8 in the framework of this network.

FIELD TRIPS

Tom writes: I obtained fund- Tianjin, Nanjing, and Hubei from the fieldwork and will sia’s image in the UK and its ing of £1920 from the Uni- Province. I also met with begin writing it up very soon. role in UK-Russian relations. versities China Committee in two government organised Finally, I am planning to re- Stephen visited Russia for London. The funding was NGOs and with several Chi- turn to China in summer a week of elite interviews in for my fieldwork undertaken nese academics, and was 2007 in order to gather September, connected with from May to August 2006. I able to collect a large more data that should en- his still-continuing project on spent last summer under- amount of documentary able me to fill any gaps that the implications in Russia, taking fieldwork related to data from NGOs and Chi- are found during the write- Ukraine and Belarus of EU Chinese environmental nese language bookshops. up process. and NATO enlargement, and NGOs and their interactions In addition, I spent a week Valentina was in London in visited again in October, as with the policymaking proc- analysing documents at the December to conduct a se- external examiner at the ess. I was based at Nankai Universities Service Centre ries of interviews with British Moscow School of Social University in Tianjin and un- for Chinese Studies based journalists and politicians and Economic Sciences. dertook interviews with at the Chinese University of who have expertise in Rus- seven Chinese environ- Hong Kong. I am currently sian politics. The interviews mental NGOs from Beijing, analysing the data gathered will help her to examine Rus-

Daniel writes: I received and Hong Kong, collecting £1860 funding from the Uni- documents and conducting versities China Committee in interviews. Overall the trip London. This is in addition to was a success and the infor- the teaching bursary that I mation I gathered will keep receive from the depart- me busy for the next year or ment, which provided some so. At present I would not funds towards the trip. The rule out a second visit as trip covered the period from there are a number of re- the middle of June up to the sources I did not have time end of September. Between to access at the USC as well 15 June and 19 September I as some areas I would like to visited Tianjin, Xi’an visit on the mainland. (Shaanxi), Anqing (Anhui),

Above: Environmental pollution in China—Beijing gridlock (from Chinadigitaltimes.net). PROJECTS Page 6

Stephen (jointly with Elena Korosteleva, Aberystwyth, and Christian Haerpfer, Aberdeen) commissioned a survey in Moldova in December using the World Values Survey questionnaire. It will be made available in the near future to the WVS network, which in turn will allow them access to the 2004-6 wave of surveys in other countries worldwide, includ- ing many in the Transition Group area. A series of focus groups was organised during the summer and autumn in Ukraine, conducted in association with Dr Vladimir Korobov of Kherson University, using funding obtained from Leverhulme. The aim was to explore dimensions of political engagement and disengagement along the lines of the Russian project that provided the basis for a paper in Europe-Asia Studies in December 2005. A first version will be presented to a panel at the BASEES conference, jointly organised with David Lane, on ‘The Orange Revolution Reconsidered’. Funding from several sources made possible two other national surveys during the year: in Belarus, following the presidential elections in the spring, and in Ukraine, following its parliamentary elections, in both cases in collaboration with Elena Korosteleva. Jane was successful in getting funding from the Universities China Committee for a visit to Glasgow by Professor Yang Tuan of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in relation to their joint project on health services reform in China.

GRADUATE PROGRESS

Katsu writes that he is cur- ume 12, Number 2, June For the future, he is con- (presumably after the next rently gearing up a final mo- 2006, pp. 207-223. sidering two research pa- summer), if anyone wishes mentum towards the com- pers: ‘Perception Gap of to seek empirical support During 2007 he will be pletion of his PhD thesis. As Democracy in Eastwards for their research, he would presenting a paper will be mentioned above, he pub- Enlargement’ and ‘Europe, be glad to consider a col- presented with the title lished his first paper last Protest, Democracy’, mak- laborative project that ‘Strong Leadership, a Rus- year: ‘Participation and pro- ing use of survey data in- would draw upon his data sian Ideal? Popular Atti- test in the European Union cluding World Values Sur- analysis. tudes in Russia and the and the “outsider” states’, vey. West’ at the BASEES confer- Contemporary Politics, Vol- ence in Cambridge. For future research

PRESENTATIONS

Jane gave a talk on ‘China’s Politics, Economy and Human Rights’ to the Modern Studies Association, 4 November 2006, and on 13 December she talked on ‘Tackling Unemployment in China: Why is it such a Problem?’, to the Seminar series of the White Rose East Asia Centre, Universities of Leeds and Sheffield.

THE TRANSFORMATION GROUP: WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO

The Transformation Group and its other members and was established in 2004 as associates are: a framework for co- Staff: Professor Bill Miller, operation among those in Dr Sarah Oates. the Department of Politics, , who Graduate Students: Ayse work wholly or in substantial Artun, Valentina Feklyunina, part on political change in Katsuto Furosawa, Daniel Eastern Europe, the Former Hammond, Tom Johnson, USSR and China. It includes Ariel Ko, Eero Mikenberg, staff members of the Anke Schmidt-Felzman, Al- Department in various ison Swain, Guohui Wang. Dr Sarah Oates (above) capacities, and research Professor Bill Miller (right) students. Its co-convenors Associates and former staff are Professor Stephen and students: Dr Yulia White and Dr Jane Duckett Korosteleva, Dr Derek Hutcheson, Dr Caroline Hoy.