Kremlinology

Kremlinology

Kremlinology is the study and analysis of Soviet (and today, Russian) politics and policies based on efforts to understand the inner workings of an extremely opaque central government. The term is named after the Kremlin, the seat of the Russian/Soviet government. Kremlinologist refers to academic, media, and commentary experts who specialize in the study of Kremlinology. Sovietology/Sovietologist describes specialists of the country as a whole.

During the Cold War, lack of reliable information about the country forced Western analysts to "read between the lines" and to use the tiniest tidbits, such as the removal of portraits, the rearranging of chairs, positions at the reviewing stand for parades in Red Square, and other indirect signs to try to understand what was happening in internal Soviet politics.

The term "Kremlinology" is still in use in application to the study of decision-making processes in the politics of the Russian Federation, and it has also been used in the context of other similarly closed regimes such as China and North Korea. In popular culture, the term is sometimes used to mean any attempt to understand a secretive organization or process, such as plans for upcoming products or events, by interpreting indirect clues [http://daringfireball.net/2008/01/macworld_expo_prelude] .

Notable Kremlinologists and Sovietologists

* Mark R. Beissinger
*Zbigniew Brzezinski
*Hélène Carrère d'Encausse (French)
*Stephen Cohen
*Marshall Goldman
*William Hyland
*George Kennan
*William Mandel
*Jack F. Matlock, Jr.
*Mark Palmer
*Richard Pipes
*Condoleezza Rice
*Dimitri K. Simes
*Stephen Sestanovich
*Marshall D. Shulman
*Llewellyn Thompson, Robert Kennedy's Kremlinologist
*Robert C. Tucker Biographer of Stalin and former head of Princeton Russian Studies program.
*Adam Ulam (brother of Stanislaw Ulam), head of the Russian Research Center at Harvard University for 16 years.

ee also

*Soviet–United States relations
*Russo–United States relations
*Team B
*Predictions of Soviet collapse
*China watcher
*Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Kremlinology — [krem΄lin äl′ə jē] n. [ KREMLIN + OLOGY] the study of the government, foreign policy, etc. of the Soviet Union Kremlinologist n …   English World dictionary

  • kremlinology — noun Usage: often capitalized Date: 1958 the study of the policies and practices of the former Soviet government • kremlinologist noun, often capitalized …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Kremlinology — Kremlinologist, n. /krem li nol euh jee/, n. the study of the government of the former Soviet Union, esp. the study of those factors governing its foreign affairs. Also called Sovietology. [1955 60; KREMLIN + O + LOGY] * * * …   Universalium

  • Kremlinology — noun a) The study of the internal politics of the high members of the government of the USSR. b) The study of the internal politics of any powerful and secretive organization …   Wiktionary

  • kremlinology — n. Sovietology, study of the policies and methods of government in the former Soviet Union …   English contemporary dictionary

  • kremlinology — krem·lin·ol·o·gy …   English syllables

  • Kremlinology — Krem•lin•ol•o•gy [[t]ˌkrɛm lɪˈnɒl ə dʒi[/t]] n. gov the study of the government and policies of the Soviet Union • Etymology: 1955–60 Krem lin•ol′o•gist, n …   From formal English to slang

  • kremlinology — …   Useful english dictionary

  • China watcher — China watcher, or, less frequently, Pekingologist, is a person who monitors current events and power struggles in People s Republic of China. During the Cold War, China Watchers centered in Hong Kong, especially American government officials or… …   Wikipedia

  • So|vi|et|ol|o|gy — «SOH vee uh TOL uh jee, SOV ee », noun. = Kremlinology. (Cf. ↑Kremlinology) …   Useful english dictionary

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