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Papers by Pär Gustafsson Kurki

Research paper thumbnail of Putin's Patriotic Agenda: Guns, God, Sports, and Roubles

The report examines the Russian independent ethnographer Alexandra Arkhipova’s metaphor concernin... more The report examines the Russian independent ethnographer Alexandra Arkhipova’s metaphor concerning Putin’s patriotic agenda. Arkhipova suggests that Putin aims to achieve “patriotic stasis,” where a set of predefined values remains unchanged. To pursue this goal, the Russian state has created a number of lavishly funded patriotic programmes. The research question is: To what extent is Arkhipova’s metaphor
mirrored in existing patriotic programmes, such as the Military-patriotic Sports Centre (MPSC) and Time of Heroes (ToH) educational and mentorship program mes? To address this question, the report provides a detailed examination of the selected programmes, MPSC and ToH. The author argues that these initiatives function as nodes within a regime network that encompasses people, interests, and values. However, there are deviations from Arkhipova’s metaphor. Perhaps the most significant of these deviations can be termed a patriotic paradox. The paradox of public patriotism in Russia is that, while the goal is a static society – Arkhipova’s
patriotic stasis – the condition deemed most beneficial to achieving it is one of turbulent wartime change.

Research paper thumbnail of Bashkortostan: An exploration of protest potential during wartime

Swedish Defence Research Agency - FOI, 2024

This brief examines the protests that occurred in January 2024 in the small, working-class town o... more This brief examines the protests that occurred in January 2024 in the small, working-class town of Baymak in Central Asia, Russian Federation, as a lens to analyse the potential for dissent during wartime.

Authors: Jana Paegle (intern at FOI) and Pär Gustafsson Kurki (senior researcher at FOI)

Research paper thumbnail of Apostles of Violence: The Russian Orthodox Church's Role in Russian Militarism

Swedish Defence Research Agency - FOI, 2024

Why does the Russian regime use the Russian Orthodox Church as a militaristic propaganda tool whe... more Why does the Russian regime use the Russian Orthodox Church as a militaristic propaganda tool when so few Russian soldiers are deeply religious?

In this report, I explain the puzzle as a function of the fact that religious propaganda (via the military clergy) may contribute to unit cohesion (i.e. soldier morale) in the Russian Armed Forces. Several agreements between the Russian state and the church since the 1990s state that the role of military priests is to support the morale of soldiers. Although the impact on soldier morale may be helpful for the Russian war machine in principle, in practice there seems to be limited historical evidence of its impact on the outcome of military operations. In the end, the reason why it is rational for the Russian state to invest in the spiritual factor via the institution of military clergy is the notion of the pervasive "ambient faith" in Russia. This is a condition that means that even people of weak religious faith may feel overwhelmed by Russian Orthodox symbolism through media and society. In fact, although a majority of Russians self-identify as Russian Orthodox, only a minority can be called devout believers; but through the "ambient faith" (i.e. ample Russian Orthodox symbolism promulgated by the Russian state and its media outlets) those who hold weak religious beliefs are convinced that everyone is a believer. And, since the Armed Forces mirrors the society, similar conditions apply there. In particular, the "ambient faith" in the Armed Forces, produced by the military clergy, raises the threshold for voicing antiwar sentiments among the soldiers. Thus, it is likely that the undersized military clergy does have a (limited) positive effect on unit cohesion, that is, on soldier morale.

Research paper thumbnail of The Russian Understanding of Soldier Morale: Essentials of Key Ideas from the 1990s to 2022

Swedish Defence Research Agency - FOI, 2023

the project manager of RUFS, was a key ally during the translation phase. Ms Marianna Serveta and... more the project manager of RUFS, was a key ally during the translation phase. Ms Marianna Serveta and Mrs Karin Blext provided invaluable administrative support. Dr Richard Langlais proofread the translation swiftly and meticulously. The usual disclaimers apply. This version of the report has been slightly edited for clarity; and a commentary to the new version has been added.

Research paper thumbnail of The Emergence of the Rule of Law in Russia

This retrospective paper challenges the favourable view about Russia's commercial courts (arbitra... more This retrospective paper challenges the favourable view about Russia's commercial courts (arbitrazhnye sudy) held by Kathryn Hendley and her colleagues. Their argument - based on a quantitative analysis - was presented in their highly cited paper “Law, Relationships and Private Enforcement: Transactional Strategies of Russian Enterprises” in Vol. 52, No. 4, Europe-Asia Studies in 2000. In this paper I use quantitative data from the late 1990s to test the validity of Hendley's claims, and conclude that an unfavourable view of the state of the courts is warranted. The proposed explanation (social mechanism) makes sense of the finding that those who trust the courts tend to believe that corruption is a fact of life and an acceptable method for getting things done.

Global Crime, Vol.14, No.1, 2013, pp. 82-109.

Published online by Taylor & Francis: 7 February, 2013.""

Research paper thumbnail of Putin's Patriotic Agenda: Guns, God, Sports, and Roubles

The report examines the Russian independent ethnographer Alexandra Arkhipova’s metaphor concernin... more The report examines the Russian independent ethnographer Alexandra Arkhipova’s metaphor concerning Putin’s patriotic agenda. Arkhipova suggests that Putin aims to achieve “patriotic stasis,” where a set of predefined values remains unchanged. To pursue this goal, the Russian state has created a number of lavishly funded patriotic programmes. The research question is: To what extent is Arkhipova’s metaphor
mirrored in existing patriotic programmes, such as the Military-patriotic Sports Centre (MPSC) and Time of Heroes (ToH) educational and mentorship program mes? To address this question, the report provides a detailed examination of the selected programmes, MPSC and ToH. The author argues that these initiatives function as nodes within a regime network that encompasses people, interests, and values. However, there are deviations from Arkhipova’s metaphor. Perhaps the most significant of these deviations can be termed a patriotic paradox. The paradox of public patriotism in Russia is that, while the goal is a static society – Arkhipova’s
patriotic stasis – the condition deemed most beneficial to achieving it is one of turbulent wartime change.

Research paper thumbnail of Bashkortostan: An exploration of protest potential during wartime

Swedish Defence Research Agency - FOI, 2024

This brief examines the protests that occurred in January 2024 in the small, working-class town o... more This brief examines the protests that occurred in January 2024 in the small, working-class town of Baymak in Central Asia, Russian Federation, as a lens to analyse the potential for dissent during wartime.

Authors: Jana Paegle (intern at FOI) and Pär Gustafsson Kurki (senior researcher at FOI)

Research paper thumbnail of Apostles of Violence: The Russian Orthodox Church's Role in Russian Militarism

Swedish Defence Research Agency - FOI, 2024

Why does the Russian regime use the Russian Orthodox Church as a militaristic propaganda tool whe... more Why does the Russian regime use the Russian Orthodox Church as a militaristic propaganda tool when so few Russian soldiers are deeply religious?

In this report, I explain the puzzle as a function of the fact that religious propaganda (via the military clergy) may contribute to unit cohesion (i.e. soldier morale) in the Russian Armed Forces. Several agreements between the Russian state and the church since the 1990s state that the role of military priests is to support the morale of soldiers. Although the impact on soldier morale may be helpful for the Russian war machine in principle, in practice there seems to be limited historical evidence of its impact on the outcome of military operations. In the end, the reason why it is rational for the Russian state to invest in the spiritual factor via the institution of military clergy is the notion of the pervasive "ambient faith" in Russia. This is a condition that means that even people of weak religious faith may feel overwhelmed by Russian Orthodox symbolism through media and society. In fact, although a majority of Russians self-identify as Russian Orthodox, only a minority can be called devout believers; but through the "ambient faith" (i.e. ample Russian Orthodox symbolism promulgated by the Russian state and its media outlets) those who hold weak religious beliefs are convinced that everyone is a believer. And, since the Armed Forces mirrors the society, similar conditions apply there. In particular, the "ambient faith" in the Armed Forces, produced by the military clergy, raises the threshold for voicing antiwar sentiments among the soldiers. Thus, it is likely that the undersized military clergy does have a (limited) positive effect on unit cohesion, that is, on soldier morale.

Research paper thumbnail of The Russian Understanding of Soldier Morale: Essentials of Key Ideas from the 1990s to 2022

Swedish Defence Research Agency - FOI, 2023

the project manager of RUFS, was a key ally during the translation phase. Ms Marianna Serveta and... more the project manager of RUFS, was a key ally during the translation phase. Ms Marianna Serveta and Mrs Karin Blext provided invaluable administrative support. Dr Richard Langlais proofread the translation swiftly and meticulously. The usual disclaimers apply. This version of the report has been slightly edited for clarity; and a commentary to the new version has been added.

Research paper thumbnail of The Emergence of the Rule of Law in Russia

This retrospective paper challenges the favourable view about Russia's commercial courts (arbitra... more This retrospective paper challenges the favourable view about Russia's commercial courts (arbitrazhnye sudy) held by Kathryn Hendley and her colleagues. Their argument - based on a quantitative analysis - was presented in their highly cited paper “Law, Relationships and Private Enforcement: Transactional Strategies of Russian Enterprises” in Vol. 52, No. 4, Europe-Asia Studies in 2000. In this paper I use quantitative data from the late 1990s to test the validity of Hendley's claims, and conclude that an unfavourable view of the state of the courts is warranted. The proposed explanation (social mechanism) makes sense of the finding that those who trust the courts tend to believe that corruption is a fact of life and an acceptable method for getting things done.

Global Crime, Vol.14, No.1, 2013, pp. 82-109.

Published online by Taylor & Francis: 7 February, 2013.""