The Politics of Russian Security Policy

Sergei Yushenkov, the chairman of the Committee on Defense in the State Duma, expressed his hope soon after the Duma was convened in January 1994 that the work of his committee would not be marred by political differences, because Russian security matters are too important to become “excessively politicized.” 1 Reaching a significant and lasting political consensus over national security policy 2 is difficult even for an exceptionally well institutionalized two-party democracy like the United States. Today’s Russia has difficulty developing and implementing a policy in any area without bitter political rancor. Can Russia’s security policy be an exception?