This mind-set came in handy when Vladimir Putin began recentralizing power and reinstating state dominance over the people. By radically curtailing political rights, he brought back the familiar pattern. Before long the majority was relieved to surrender responsibility and leave state affairs to the strong leader. And if the absence of public oversight meant increasing corruption, cronyism and lawlessness, was there an alternative? Not in the experience and perceptions of the Russian people. Here, it is seen as inevitable that civil servants will use the power of their offices for personal enrichment. Trying to change that would be irrational, even stupid; a rational strategy, the thinking goes, would be to get adjusted to this environment and focus on your own pursuits.
The freedom of individual pursuit — as long as one stays away from politics — is one undoubted achievement of Russia’s post-communist development. Putin’s government reinstated the Soviet-style political monopoly and uncontested governance but did not encroach on individual rights. The constraints that existed in the USSR on entrepreneurship, artistic or academic self-fulfillment and lifestyle were not brought back. If one views the events of August 1991 as people rising in defense of freedom against a communist comeback, today’s individual freedoms should be seen as a goal fulfilled.
Another post-communist achievement is the rise of a consumer society. Although a sizable number of Russians still have low incomes, never has the proportion of those who enjoy reasonable wealth and comfort been so high. During Soviet times, frustrated consumers faced chronic shortages and ubiquitous lines; after August 1991 and the adoption of a market economy, this cause of discontent was eliminated.
These days in Russia, individual freedoms and the developed consumer society are taken for granted. But the end of communism is hardly seen as a reason for celebration either by the government or by the people. The government would not praise the public empowerment because today’s system is also based on unchallenged state power and is strongly apprehensive of activism. The people largely accept this system, so it’s no wonder that, according to Levada Center, only about 9 percent believe that the events of August 1991 were important. (Twenty years ago, over half thought so.) Looking back, just about 10 percent (overwhelmingly Muscovites) see August ’91 as a victory of the democratic revolution over communism, almost 40 percent believe it was a tragic event that had pernicious effects for Russia, and 35 percent simply dismiss it as irrelevant — a mere episode of power struggle at the top. If August ’91 had the potential of ridding Russia of its perennial state paternalism, this opportunity was lost.
Masha Lipman, editor of the Carnegie Moscow Center’s Pro et Contra journal, writes a monthly column for The Post.
Loading...
Comments