Russian modernisation has been driven by a combination of factors
and influenced by the specific cultural and geopolitical position of
Russia in comparison to Europe and the world. Modernisation in
Russia, beginning during the reign of Peter the Great (1682-1725),
has followed a cyclical pattern that closely coincides with Rostow’s
theory of modernisation. Rostow, who focuses on economic
modernisation, stipulates that modernisation follows five stages:
the traditional society; the preconditions for take-off; the
take-off; the drive to maturity and the age of high mass
consumption. (Rostow, 1990: 20) While his economic stages of
modernisation act as a conceptual basis for an analysis of
modernisation it is important to remember that other areas of
modernisation, such as social development or military modernisation,
do not necessarily coincide with particular stages of economic
growth and in some circumstances these areas can progress at
strikingly different pace.
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To illustrate the
"Russia meets the West" theme, we have used pictures of Dior fashion show
which visited Moscow in June 1959. The pictures were taken by a
photographer of the Life magazine. |
Furthermore, Rostow, and other theorists
such as Habernas, consider modernisation to be intricately linked
with the development of market capitalism and the development of
political participation, yet these areas developed differently in
Russia because collective ownership and strong, central authority
have provided the impetus for modernisation during most cycles of
modernisation. (Habernas, 1998: 2) Therefore, this analysis will
seek to understand what initiated modernisation in Russia, how each
cycle of modernisation created flaws that would act as impetus for
the next cycle and also how these influences forced the Russian
state to modernise in the specific manner that it did.
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