Back to search

NORRUSS-Nordområdene og Russland

The Individual and the State in Russia: Self-images, Coping Strategies, Civil Society (INSTARUSS)

Alternative title: Individet og staten i Russland

Awarded: NOK 4.5 mill.

The project examines the relations between the individual and the state in Russia, from the viewpoint of individuals and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Through a series of qualitative in-depth interviews with ordinary people, as well as NGO repres entatives in Murmansk Oblast, the Republic of Karelia and St Petersburg, project participants investigate citizens' views on the Russian state, their experience with it and strategies towards it, particularly in the fields of education, health and welfare . They further explore how Russians employ civil society in their interaction with the state, e.g. through labour unions. The hypothesis is that there is a counterpart at the individual level to the duality at the system level between a 'normative state' of rule of law and an 'administrative regime' of informal relations. Whereas the 'normative state' rests on, and incorporates, the idea of 'citizens' exercising 'svoboda' (the Western, rational and 'responsible' freedom), the 'administrative regime' is al l about intra-elite loyalties and squabbles, reducing ordinary people to mere 'subjects' left to their own devices in the struggle to have their 'volya' (the Russian, 'irrational' freedom unrestricted). How do ordinary Russians handle their encounters wit h the state, individually and through civil society? Do they approach it as the 'normative state' or the 'administrative regime'? Are they 'citizens' or 'subjects'? To what extent do they experience freedom, as either 'svoboda' or 'volya'? In which situat ions do they typically resort to informal relations? Which images of Russia are invoked in these encounters? And what does all this tell us about the prospects for good governance in Russia? As a basis for the interview investigation, a legal expert will provide overviews of the formal rights that citizens and NGOs enjoy in Russian legislation.

INSTARUS examines the relations between the individual and the state in Russia from a bottom-up perspective, from the individual's point of view. We start with an investigation of people's views on the Russian state, their experience with it and strategie s towards it. Then we examine how Russians employ civil society in their interaction with the state. Overall, Russian's perceptions of the state and its mechanisms is our primary interest. The hypothesis is that there is a counterpart at the individual le vel to the duality at the system level between a 'normative state' of rule of law and an 'administrative regime' of informal relations. Whereas the 'normative state' rests on, and incorporates, the idea of 'citizens' exercising 'svoboda' (the Western, rat ional and 'responsible' freedom), the 'administrative regime' is all about intra-elite loyalties and squabbles, reducing ordinary people to mere 'subjects' left to their own devices in the struggle to have their 'volya' (the Russian, 'irrational' freedom unrestricted). This division resonates with the double-edged conception of Russia as 'Anti-Disneyland' - at one and the same time a gigantic theme-park of inconvenience and the site of a fascinating, astonishing epic. It further replicates the ambivalence many Russians express about Scandinavia: at one time fascinating for its orderliness and despicable for its boredom. So how do ordinary Russians handle their encounters with the state, individually and through civil society? Do they approach it as the 'n ormative state' or the 'administrative regime'? Are they 'citizens' or 'subjects'? To what extent do they experience freedom, as either 'svoboda' or 'volya'? In which situations do they typically resort to 'blat'? Which images of Russia are invoked in the se encounters? And what does all this tell us about the prospects for good governance in Russia? Are Russians stuck in the conviction that nothing will work in Russia, or is a change underway?

Funding scheme:

NORRUSS-Nordområdene og Russland