| This thesis explores whether democracy can be defined in a way that maintains its meaningfulness as a political science concept, while separating democracy from a de facto liberal democratic understanding. By examining major works of democratic theory, both classical and modem, I determine three key elements of democracy---popular control over the government, political equality, and freedom. I apply this conception of democracy to the case of Russia under the presidency of Vladimir Putin (2000 to 2(08) to determine if, during this period, Russia could be considered democratic. An examination of public opinion polls and the results of national elections reveal that although Russia under Putin had a number of democratic elements, it cannot be considered a democratic state because of electoral fraud and the incumbents' use of administrative resources. |
