Rysslands demokratiska tillbakagång : - möjliga förklaringsfaktorer och dess effekter på mänskliga rättigheter

Sammanfattning: This study aims to examine factors that have contributed to inhibit Russia’s democratic development, and what effects these factors have on human rights. The study mainly focuses on three topics, which are the following: economic development, historical heritage and political culture, and corruption. To be able to analyze these topics I will use the democratization theory to see how it has taken place in Russia. The text analysis will use reports including Freedom House and Human Rights Watch’s annual world reports, and scholarly literature. The conclusions of this study shows that all examined factors have contributed to the decline of democracy in Russia. Also, Russia’s democratic setback have had a very negative impact on human rights. Further, the examined factors aren’t alone in explaining the democratic setback, there are other reasons as well. For example, president Putin have been undermining democracy since he became president in 2000.