Akademik

   / Demokratizatsiia

   The term “democratization” (demokratizatsiia) refers to a gradual introduction of democratic principles of governance into post-totalitarian societies. In the Russian language, the term implies a delay in the acceptance of democracy as the main structure of society. While Mikhail Gorbachev insisted on democratization, Boris Yeltsin banked on democracy, which resulted in the shift from the slow social reforms of the 1980s to the shock therapy of the 1990s. The term also has a negative connotation referring to American hegemony and enforced democratization of states around the globe with the purpose of even more aggressive exploitation of people and natural resources.

   See also United States.