Society and the State in Russia: Social Barriers on the Way of Civil Dialogue

Valentin Babintsev (Belgorod, Russia) [BIO]

Email: babintsev@bsu.edu.ru

 

ABSTRACT:

The social-political situation in modern Russia is characterized by parallel coexistence of the state and the society. Both keep away more and more from each other, representing detached social-cultural worlds. The basic barriers which interfere with civil dialogue and constructive interaction of these structures include:

1. Social-cultural barrier. It is connected to features of domestic cultural- historical tradition. Prevailing types of actions within the framework of domestic cultural-historical tradition were affective and traditional. It had predetermined the appearance of irrational forms of behavior for the majority of the population. Citizens’ underestimation of government mechanisms of solving their problems, and total legal nihilism of the population are consequences of these types of actions.
2. Corporate-bureaucratic barrier. The domestic model of state management is yet rather close to patrimonial (on M. Weber's classification). It is based on the idea of personal fidelity of the official to the head, on the distribution of posts depending on affinity to the latter and the absence of precise differentiations between property of the official and the organization. It reduces orientation of the state and municipal employees on citizens’ interests, stimulates corruption and bureaucratese.
3. A professional-educational barrier. Its essence lies in the fact that both officials and the population are insufficiently competent of social dialogue, possess inadequate skills of legal presentation of their interests. Most of them do not rise to comprehend the necessity of mastering knowledge and skills in this sphere.

Overcoming of these barriers could open up the way to gradual and long transition to personality oriented civil society.