Neoliberal passive revolutions in the post-USSR: similarities and singularities between the Russian and the Ukrainian neoliberal chaos in the 1990’s

Abstract

It stands to reason that the catastrophic consequences of the passive revolutions in the Russian Federation and in Ukraine, during the 1990’s, must be comprehended from two indispensable historical events: the disintegration of the former USSR and the expansion of neoliberalism to these new formally independent States. As a result of this, the end of the soviet historical block and the establishment of the hegemonical neoliberal discourse in these two countries made possible deep changes in all contexts, such as political, economic and social. In a perhaps paradoxical way, even though the end of the USSR and the neoliberal expansion are two similar events to both revolutions, these factors are also the two differentiating characteristics. Therefore, the crucial objective of this article is to demonstrate the similarities and the differences of these two processes, which are deeply tributary to the socioeconomical and political heritage of the soviet period.

Keywords

• international relations
• hegemony
• neoliberalism
• cesarism