俄羅斯從戈巴契夫與葉爾欽以來都致力於邁向民主化，但一個國家從中央集權要邁向民主並不是一件輕而易舉的事情。在一個國家從中央集權轉化為民主的過程中，政治文化為其重要樞紐之一。 受到傳統政治文化與民主思潮的影響，俄羅斯不斷的在民主與威權之間做選擇。然而，戈巴契夫與葉爾欽時期並沒有妥善解決此矛盾。因此，普京政權藉由「俄羅斯思想」與「主權民主」，對國內政策進行改革與控制。 為了結束俄國在轉型時期中所造成的混亂，普丁透過「垂直的總統權力」與「法律上的獨裁」來建立強大的國家，在對聯邦制度、政黨以及媒體的改革上也是如此。此外，俄羅斯的「超級總統制」也將領導人的個人因素突出，而這樣的體制對俄羅斯的民主化亦產生了舉足輕重的影響。 雖然實施民主，但卻可從中看出政治文化中的「集權主義」、「強人政治」等特徵。本論文探討的重點在於俄羅斯獨有的政治文化是如何影響三位領導人的政治選擇與發展。 In Russia, Gorbachev and Yeltsin have been committed to democratization in the past, but it’s not an easy task for a centralized country to move towards democracy. The political culture plays a crucial role in the process of transit of a centralized country towards democracy. Under the influence of the traditional political culture, Russia makes a choice between democracy and authoritarianism in favor of the latter. However, both Gorbachev and Yeltsin didn’t resolve this contradiction properly. As a result, the Putin administration has reformed domestic policies according to “Russian idea” and “sovereign democracy.” In order to end the transitional turmoil left by Yeltsin era, the Putin administration has tried to establish a strong state and carry out his federal system, party reform as well as media reform with “vertical presidential power” and “dictatorship of law.” In addition, the super-presidential system in Russia has also emphasized the leader’s personal factors, and this kind of system indeed affects the democratization in Russia. Although the democracy has been implemented in Russia, “totalitarianism” and “strongman politics” of political culture still appear to be apart of the Russian political process. This thesis puts emphasis on how political culture in Russia has affected these three Russian leaders’ political preferences and political developments.
