| During the period of political transformation, internal decision-making processes in the Soviet Union and Russia included multiple actors and a complex political process of pulling and hauling among actors. Therefore, in explaining Soviet and Russia policy approach it is necessary to look inside the state, examining the interests of different stakeholders in the policy process. The model of authoritative decision units, supplemented by the bureaucratic politics perspective, provides a comprehensive picture of internal political settings in the Soviet Union and Russian decision making. The study finds that the Soviet and Russian policy approaches toward Soviet Republics and the post-Soviet states were formed according to the internal political setting in a multi-factional environment. However, different outcomes of the Soviet and Russian policy approaches, as well as changes of these approaches was shaped according to which political faction prevailed in the Soviet leadership; and to what degree different actors in Russia's leadership demonstrated their individual interests. |
