|
Thus, Russian current public
attitudes reflect not so much a resurgence of Soviet values but the
return to the Russian traditional mold of the mass consciousness.
The liberal reforms in Russia face not simply the inheritance of
70-year long Communist rule. Their adherents have to engage in an
uphill struggle against the resistance of the legacy of over one
thousand-year long Russian history. |
Estimates of Benefits for Russia of the Changes
over the
Recent Decade, (%) (VTsIOM, 1999)
|
|
Positive |
Negative |
|
Freedom of speech and the press |
47 |
32 |
|
Multiparty elections |
21 |
50 |
|
Freedom of foreign travel |
43 |
23 |
|
Free enterprise |
50 |
25 |
|
The right to strike |
32 |
26 |
This, however, does not necessarily mean that liberalism is
doomed in Russia.
The majority of Russians welcomes the
democratic changes that have taken root in society, although they
take one marked exception, appraising the appearance of a
bewildering multitude of political parties largely negatively.
Despite a general disenchantment with liberalism (or
perhaps, with the idealistic understanding of liberalism,
characteristic of the early 1990s), liberal ideology has taken root
in Russian society. Millions of well-educated ex-Soviet citizens
living in urban areas have already made the psychological transition
to the post-Soviet realities.
Thousands of entrepreneurs have taken
advantage of the new laws allowing private enterprise and have opened
their own businesses. A new post-Soviet generation is rising to leading
positions throughout the country. Many of its members have lived their
entire professional lives in the world of Gorbachev’s perestroika and
the post-Soviet market economy.
Thus, liberalism is embraced by more dynamic sectors of the
electorate; it informs the activity of many key decision makers in
the Russian executive branch, including the presidential and
governmental structures; it is the dominant ideology of powerful
financial-industrial groups; and, most importantly, it has the
support of the leading mass media. All this enables the adherents of
liberalism to exert considerable influence on the way of thinking of
the Russian people.
Contemporary
Russian public attitudes are a vibrant mixture of contradictory
elements drawn from the prerevolutionary, Soviet, and post-Soviet
periods, and enriched with global moral and intellectual influences.
This is a
national mentality in a state of flux: it combines a resurgence of
Russian nationalism with survivals of the values of Soviet
patriotism and collectivism and with high levels of support for
principles associated with liberal democracy, including political
and religious tolerance, political liberty, individual rights,
rights of opposition and dissent, freedom of speech, and competitive
elections. It is a fluid culture, engaged in active
processes of social modernization leading to a market economy, a
law-governed state, and a civil society.
