ABSTRACT Just as the popular imagination became inflamed by the events of 1989, and the “fall of the wall” was commonly taken as a sign of the inevitability of a new, open, free, and democratic Eastern Europe, so too was the disintegration of the Soviet Union in December of 1991 taken as a sign of the inevitability of a new, open, free, and democratic Russia. Although the events in Berlin were significant in spurring changes onward, with different rhetorical choices by Soviet and Russian leaders along the way history could have been written quite differently. The central concern of this article is to show how these rhetorical choices shaped the future of post-Communist transition in the Russian Federation. We proceed chronologically, examining key moments in the rhetoricity of the Russian transition from Communism toward its current form of governance.

Research Article| January 01 2006 Instant Democracy: Rhetorical Crises and the Russian Federation, 1991–2007 David Cratis Williams David Cratis Williams Florida Atlantic University Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Advances in the History of Rhetoric (2006) 9 (1): 227–242. https://doi.org/10.1080/15362426.2006.10557270 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation David Cratis Williams; Instant Democracy: Rhetorical Crises and the Russian Federation, 1991–2007. Advances in the History of Rhetoric 1 January 2006; 9 (1): 227–242. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/15362426.2006.10557270 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectivePenn State University PressJournal for the History of Rhetoric Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. Copyright © 2006 by the American Society for the History of Rhetoric2006the American Society for the History of Rhetoric Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.