It could be hardly doubted that the Soviet Union was an immensely influential political power in the 20th century. However, the continuous decay of the Soviet Union resulted in the emergence of a new country, the Russian Federation. The newly emerged country would have numerous similarities with its predecessor. However, there are important differences that define the Russian Federation’s new approach to the social, economic, and political questions of internal and external character.
The first factor that appears to be highly important is that Russian Federation has changed its overall political course. The Soviet Union’s approach to politics and societal development was largely defined by communism. Nevertheless, when Russian Federation was established, communist ideology was overthrown, and the course to democracy was taken. This ideological change has also influenced social and cultural life in the country because the relations with the Western world became more open and friendly than they were during the Cold War.
Although the aftermath of the Cold War still evidently impacts the relationships between Russian Federation and the United States, the overall intention to connect in terms of culture and economy more widely is apparent. Concerning economic development, it is possible to state that it is one of the primary differences between the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. The article by Krausmann, Gaugl, West, and Schandl investigates the paradigm shift that occurred after the decay of the Soviet Union that had a planned centralized economy. However, Russian Federation decided to develop a competitive market economy. Thus, it is possible to observe that Russian Federation differs considerably from the Soviet Union.