Civil Associations as Subjects of Socio-Legal Control in the Regional Community

Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2019, Volume 7, Issue 3, Pages: 418-425

J. Environ. Treat. Tech.

ISSN: 2309-1185

Journal web link: http://www.jett.dormaj.com

Civil Associations as Subjects of Socio-Legal Control in

the Regional Community

Valeri V. Nizovtsev *, Alexander K. Degtyarev , Konstantin V. Vodenko

Platov South-Russian State Polytechnic University (NPI), Department of Law, Philosophy and History, Novocherkassk, Russia

Platov South-Russian State Polytechnic University (NPI), Department of Personnel Management, Novocherkassk, Russia

Received: 18/02/2019

Accepted: 13/08/2019

Published: 20/08/2019

Abstract

Purpose of the study: In the Russian society the problem of socio-legal control acquires a current sense, as it is obvious that the

state-centered matrix of socio-legal control has become obsolete, does not conform to the complexity of the modern organizational

and legal processes, and is insufficient in development of feedback with queries, expectations, and requirements of various social

groups. Methodology: As to selection of the methodology of the research, it is possible to suppose that the procedures of structural &

functional and institutional approaches belong to the process of determinants of socio-legal control. The research methodology also

envisages foundation on the principles of limited universality and target rationality, which characterizes the level of mobilization of

the organic potential of the regional community. Results: The authors note that civil associations pass from the model of critical

“observation” and confrontation with government institutes at the level of implementation of the function of socio-legal control to

usage of the model of civil and public partnership, which is proved by creation of the Russian umbrella public structures that is to

unify various civil associations for socio-legal control. As Russia is the country of regions, civil associations, as subjects of socio-

legal control in regional community are to ensure transparency of policy making at the regional level and implement public hearings

and public expertise of activities of regional management. However, there are objective limitations in the form of insufficient

resources of civil associations and subjective limitations in the form of lack of legal professionalism and legal initiative. Perspective

civil associations, as subjects of socio-legal control in regional community, are determined by horizons of activities and common

goals and interests on the basis of constructive cooperation with state structures in actualization of the procedures of participation in

evaluation of the normative and legal correspondence of the activities of government institutes for developing effective feedback with

regional community. Applications of this study: The results obtained will allow a better orientation in the space of social and legal

transformations occurring in modern Russia and predict the situation in the social reproduction of Russian society from the point of

view of the prospects for its legal development. Novelty/Originality of this study: The research methodology envisages the model of

socio-legal control as the sphere of mandatory participation of civil institutes, according to their organizational structure, system of

rules and goals, and that civil institutes in a regional community are oriented at implementing their own principles and ideas for

expanding the opportunities of representation and expression of the interests of groups that are not satisfied with the positions of

social observation or passive adaptation.

Keywords: Socio-Legal Control, Civil Associations, Government Institutes, Regional Community, Public Expertise, Equal

Partnership.

outside of which institutional trust of society is scarce and

social development cannot be predicted (3,26).

Introduction

Socio-legal control, as activities connected monitoring,

Besides, socio-legal control in the Russian society is

traditionally set by the state-centered matrix, based on

acknowledgment of the role of government institutes in

implementation of control functions at the formal, executive,

and administrative levels (17). It is meant that the main result

of social transformations in the Russian society is that the

structural, institutional, and subject changes in a historically

short period of time created a completely new socio-legal

order, but also confirmed the tradition of foundation on the

state as a guarantor and social transformations and stability of

social institutes (Russia: a transforming society, 2001, 16).

evaluation, and diagnostics of the results of activities of

government institutes according to the forms and goals based

on the legal, organizational, and information procedures, is

the constituent factor of consolidation and development of

regional community as a social space of interaction of

various groups with the system of regional management,

Corresponding author: Valeri V. Nizovtsev,Platov South-

Russian State Polytechnic University (NPI), Department of

Law, Philosophy and History, Novocherkassk, Russia, E-

mail: bilatiunova@gmail.com.

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2019, Volume 7, Issue 3, Pages: 418-425

This conclusion was made due to weakness of the

horizontal social ties and absence of proved preconditions of

civil society and self-sufficient personality. In other words,

modernization of the Russian society is determined by

development and vertically integrated system, which acts

according to the scheme of “coordinating centers”, and

horizontal social ties of regional community as a system of

interaction of socially and economically active groups in the

regional space.

based on negative statements, V.A. Yadov, made

conclusion that Russia is to take the path of formation,

development, and accumulation of authority of civil society

(

32). In this sense, it is interesting that civil society in Russia

In the existing social reality, the Russian society requires

stability in the context of internal and external challenges.

An important factor that determines perception of

situation in the country is the position of civil society, which

has a diversified structure at the regional level. It should be

emphasized that socio-legal control as a vector of activities of

civil society envisages diversity of organizational forms and a

certain level of civil activity and civil culture; it is necessary

to mention the interconnection between the quality of socio-

legal control and the model of relations between government

institutes and civil associations, as the sense of socio-legal

control as joint activities consists in realization of belonging

to the common goals and interests that are implemented in

the system of social management in which regional

management and activities of the government institutes on

reproduction and development of socio-legal order seem to

be organically set in the priorities of social management by

the conditions of adequate implementation of socio-legal

control as a sphere of social and public partnership at the

regional level.

is manifested in non-classic forms, which is confirmed by the

factor of social volunteering and voluntary participation of

fourteen million Russians in various social events (help and

support for family and childhood, liquidation of

consequences of anthropogenic and natural disasters,

development and implementation of youth creative projects,

formation of the culture of historical memory, preservation of

cultural and historical heritage, and socio-ecological

initiatives). A “narrow” spot is the legal direction, in which

human rights organizations, which have organizational

background, skilled legal personnel, and experience of

interaction with transnational public structures, are rather

strong.

However, the problem of socio-legal control is seen in

evaluation of the quality of social management – especially,

for the regional and local levels, monitoring of

implementation of government target programs from civil

society, and observation of law and order in the context of

social audit and evaluation of managerial decisions. In other

words, development of consolidated position of government

institutes and civil society as to the sphere of competence and

implementation of socio-legal control the demand for which

in the Russian society is obvious.

The thing is that the human rights “sector” works

according to the scheme of human rights protection and

focuses in the legal and political sphere, and, from this point

of view, the perspectives of development of socio-legal

control might not be optimistic. At the same time, an

important aspect for understanding this process in the

Russian society could be presence of objective preconditions

for integration of civil associations as the groups that are

oriented at representation and implementation of the interests

of a regional community in the system of socio-legal control.

At the all-Russia level, the umbrella-type structure the All-

Russia People's Front, which works in close interaction with

the institute of presidency, and allows for effective

monitoring of execution of the decisions of the highest

political management of the country, has been rather

successful. The All-Russia People's Front allows for

cooperation between social volunteers and government

institutes, as the All-Russia People's Front has formed

channels of the legal, information, and social influence on

analysis and assessment of activities of government

structures (the All-Russia People's Front participates in

control over the results of tenders (systems of government

purchases) at the all-Russia and regional levels, conducts

public control over implementation of 20% of targeted

projects, and uses public expertise to regulate the conflicts in

the sphere of socio-labor relations.

Methodology

It is possible to state that Russian researchers focus on

the potential of subjectivity of civil associations on

implementation of socio-legal control in regional community

as a capability to influence on implementation of the main

directions of regional policy on the basis of implementation

of the legal acts for expanding representation and expressing

the interests of various groups of the regional community.

Based on this, there appears the need for determining the

conceptual and applied scheme of the research that can

construct theoretical landmarks oriented at increase of

sociological authenticity of the results.

Also, it envisages not the cancelling of description of

civil associations at the stage of formation of socio-legal

control and strong influence of external limitations but

determining the basic conditions for including civil

associations in the regional community into the system of

socio-legal control. In this sense, one cannot “return to the

past” and seek restoration of “people’s control”, which does

not conform to the changed structural and institutional

parameters in development of regional community in the

Russian society.

That’s why during analysis of possible directions the

research choice is predetermined by the argument of

elaboration of conceptual tools and empirical identification of

the described social reality. Here the provisions of the

structural & functional and institutional approaches are rather

interesting; they explain the existing situation of socio-legal

control as a rather “closed” procedure in the context of

communicative infrastructure and schemes of government

and civil institutes. It is possible to distinguish several

specific characteristics of civil institutes of regional

community. Firstly, the factor of regional self-sufficiency –

Hence the corridor of opportunities for actions of civil

institutes in the sphere of socio-legal control and, without

denying the reproduction of the state-centered matrix, it is

possible to speak of actualization and articulation of civil

associations as subjects of socio-legal control in the Russian

society. Considering the fact that Russia is the country of

regions, significance of socio-legal control in socio-cultural

“density” of communication in the regional elite groups and

high level of informal (interpersonal) contacts lead to the fact

that socio-legal control is the procedure of “coordinated

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2019, Volume 7, Issue 3, Pages: 418-425

results” and a common position of the subjects of regional

community in refusing “quick changes” in the system of

regional management. Secondly, the quality of socio-legal

control over civil institutes is influenced by the factor of

government support, which naturally reduces the possibility

of actions with a risk of confrontation between government

institutes and civil associations. Thirdly, there is a factor of

civil institutes in a regional community are oriented at

implementing their own principles and ideas for expanding

the opportunities of representation and expression of the

interests of groups that are not satisfied with the positions of

social observation or passive adaptation. The activity

approach envisages studying civil associations as social

subjects, which determines connection to socio-legal control

in the context of the initiating and resonant managing impact,

i.e., determination of the consequences of socio-legal control

for social diagnostics of activities of government institutes

(31).

“rumors”, which causes a lot of ambiguous interpretations,

which deforms the understanding of socio-legal control as an

important procedure of achievement of convention between

government institutes and civil associations in the sphere of

evaluation of the legal aspect of adopted managerial

decisions.

As to selection of the methodology of the research, it is

possible to suppose that the procedures of structural &

functional and institutional approaches belong to the process

of determinants of socio-legal control (2,16,18,20,22,27).

This means that civil institutes form in a specific regional

environment and cannot be described outside of the existing

objective conditions of life of regional community. In other

words, it is impossible to expect authenticity of sociological

information without consideration of the existing

configuration of the subjects of regional community,

effective formal and informal institutional mechanisms, the

existing model of regional management, and the tradition of

The research methodology also envisages foundation on

the principles of limited universality and target rationality,

which characterizes the level of mobilization of the organic

potential of the regional community.

Results

Civil society is

a popular topic of the Russian

sociological thought, which, however, contains conceptual

understatements”. The Russian society entered the stage of

“

development and creation of all-Russia socio-political and

cultural space of the Russian sociological thought, which

shows the organic connection between the civil institutes,

development of democracy and market economy, and

establishment of the legal state (19). It is obvious that the age

of “excessive” regional sovereignization is already in the

past, but, at the same time, it is possible to see insufficiency

and one-sidedness of vertically integrated ties, which allow

ensuring integrity and security of the society and state but

require transition to the model of mutual responsibility and to

opposing motion “top-down and bottom-up” in

implementation of socio-legal control.

It should be emphasized that discussion between “citizen-

centered” and “state-centered” is fixed within the studied

problem. This scheme is obviously relative and reminds the

Weber’s “ideal types” as structural and institutional

invariants that find the “signs of influence” in the system of

socio-legal control.

participation of the civil associations of

community in socio-legal control.

a regional

The activity approach has the advantage of transition

from description of determinants of socio-legal control to

analysis of discourse, organization, and action. Socio-legal

control in regional community is group actions aimed at

implementation on the basis of the systemic usage of the

legal, organizational, and information resources as a method

of changing own positions in

a regional community,

development of common interests and goals within formation

of symbolic identities, and articulation of socio-legal control

in the discourse of communication between regional

community and government institutes.

The problem of civil associations, as subjects of socio-

legal control in a regional community, is brought down to

frameworks of studying the objective, structural, and

institutional parameters in the above approaches, while the

activity approach focuses on the acting subject and groups of

the regional community that get involved in the process of

socio-legal control on the basis of collective intentionality to

influence on regional policy and regional management. The

research criteria are, firstly, the level of social mobilization of

regional community and readiness for actions that stimulate

socio-legal control; secondly, organizational preparation on

the consolidation basis; thirdly, striving to become an

important and independent subject of the regional community

in which socio-legal control is presented as a position on the

path of increase of influence on life and development of the

regional community. These criteria would be incomplete

without the fact that civil associations, as subjects of socio-

legal control in the regional community, are peculiar for

assessment of resources and opportunities and for that which

group that wants to participate (directly or indirectly) in

socio-legal control actually is.

Supporters of “state-centered” approach substantiate the

provision of the leading and decisive role of government

institutes in implementation of socio-legal control in the

Russian society, referring to the state as an institute and

image that embodies continuity and guarantee of public

development; to preservation of institutional trust to the

institutes of order that are to implement systemic functions;

to insufficient resources of civil associations that limit the

opportunities of participation in the process of monitoring of

social control and decision making under the influence of

civil. The “civil-centered” approach has its origins in the

reality of civil society in Russia, which, with differences

from the normative foreign models, has developed not

logically but historically, being involved in various regional

socio-cultural contexts.

The modern author I.A. Khaliy emphasizes that a new

impulse to civil society are given by public movements as

institutes of respresentation or expression of interests of

various social groups (9,10). Bases on this provision, it is

stated that civil associations are objectively included in the

process of socio-legal control, as they form and develop in

specific socio-legal conditions, and that socio-legal control is

a precondition of accumulation of organizational, prestigious,

and information resources. In is important to be able to

formulate specific requirements and goals, based on shifting

It is important to explain that the research methodology

envisages the model of socio-legal control as the sphere of

mandatory participation of civil institutes, according to their

organizational structure, system of rules and goals, and that

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2019, Volume 7, Issue 3, Pages: 418-425

responsibility for socio-legal control on civil institutes. While

in 1990’s civil associations were used for analysis and

evaluation of the activities of government institutes from time

to time, and only the civil structures that showed signs and

proofs of strength and activity were concerned, formation of

a wide specter of civil initiatives determines the vector of

subjectivity of civil associations in the practices of socio-

legal control. Against this background, it is possible to

determine the conditions of transition to organizational

development and overcome the “spirit of enlightenment and

criticism”. The setting on development of socio-legal control

as a tool of social audit of state structures and responsibility

of civil society in the process of achievement of stability and

security is outlines in substantiation of leadership of civil

associations in implementation of socio-legal control in

various spheres of life of a regional community.

As a matter of fact, the presented sociological literature

on the analyze problem distinguishes three levels of

conceptual consideration and understanding. The first level is

connected to the structural and functionalist treatment, in

which socio-legal control is determined by priorities of the

societal sphere (14,23,25). They agree that socio-legal control

belongs to the sphere of activities of government institutes in

regional community, which undergoes the changes connected

to socio-spatial and socio-territorial identification and search

for the way of socio-innovational development of regions;

however, introduction of social reflection into the activities

of government institutes does not cancel treatment of socio-

legal control as the procedure of self-control, oriented at

that form transfer of activity of the regional community in the

sphere of socio-legal control.

The path of formation of such scheme is found in stating

the traditionalism of regional community and priority of

“closed access” to the resources of socio-legal control. By the

way, this approach is supported by I.A. Khaliy, who sees the

“authoritarianism” of the institutional environment in the

regions, which slows down the possibility of civil

innovations in the sphere of socio-legal control (9,10). A

debatable aspect is supporters of institutionalism adopting (in

the “unarticulated” way) the factor of state’s help, support,

and stimulation for civil associations in the relative

implementation of claims for socio-legal control, when in the

context of the normative model of the neo-institutional

approach the real condition is formation of the social

contract, based on mutual obligations of the subjects of socio-

legal control, adoption of certain rules of social regulation,

and avoidance of conflict situations.

The basic research of socio-legal control over civil

institutes of regional community is conducted primarily in the

aspect of determining the similarity of socio-legal and social

control from civil society, which is emphasized in the works

(1,24,33). The role of civil associations as subjects of socio-

legal control in a regional community is qualified within the

model of constructive “opposition”, expressed in the fact that

civil associations are assigned subjectivity as an ability to

occupy autonomous positions in the sphere of socio-legal

control with stimulation of increase of effectiveness of

regional management as the function of government

institutes, based on introduction of the procedures of

hierarchy of goals of management and the chances of their

implementation, intensity of legal consultation regarding the

decisions, and establishment of so called “public

management”, determined by making of managerial

decisions according to demands of the regional community.

Based on the above, it is possible to formulate the

provision that civil associations, as subjects of socio-legal

control in a regional community, are studied in two aspects:

firstly, according to the logic of establishment of civil society

in Russia, and, secondly, regionalization and inclusion of

civil institutes into the life of a regional community as to

criteria of the model of interrelations between regional

authorities and civil institutes, resource provision of civil

institutes as to the level of social and professional capital and

quality of human capital in the region.

This position explains the “shift” in the research literature

on this problem, which is connected to differentiation of the

general regional space. Unlike econometrics, which divides

regions according to the criteria of profitability, taxation, and

share in the country’s GDP, sociological approach is

determined by the institutional factors (democratization,

openness, ability for social integration, and access to public

resources)..

Within the “subject” paradigm, civil institutes of regional

community are described at the totality of the models of

behavior, which include setting at rational ideas of civil

groups in expected consequences of their interaction with the

corresponding managerial structures. Hence the attention of

the Russian researchers S.G. Kirdina, А.А. Khagurova, О.V.

Kravchuk and E.I. Volkova to the role of civil institutes,

treated as civil associations and public movements, in

implementation of social programs of regional development.

Emphasis is made on strategies in the sphere of socio-legal

“impeccability” of decisions. Civil associations of a regional

community are to ensure “increase of authenticity” of results,

emphasizing the connection to the regional models of

management, real human potential, and regional resources

and preferences.

The institutional approach, which is implemented in the

works (6,12), aims at understanding the problem of socio-

legal activities of civil associations of a regional community

in the context of adaptation of civil institutes to the existing

institutional environment of the Russian society. According

to the Russian supporters of institutionalism, it is important to

understand the limits and conditions of the “window of

possibilities” of civil associations in influencing the models

of activities of government structures through determination

of the correspondence of the institutional (formal and legal)

norms and mechanisms and results of activities – especially,

in the public & legal and political & legal spheres.

Considering civil associations within the movement from

the traditionalist regional community to a more complex

community, which ensures the interests of socially active

groups in access to resources of control, it is possible to

determine the growing asymmetrical complexity of the

system of socio-legal control. Thus, attention is paid to the

character of interaction between government institutes of

socio-legal control and civil associations in the model of

“situational monitoring”. These initial positions form the

concept of “postponed action” and return to the problem of

competence of regional civil society and to the situation

when apart from the imposed institutional limitations in

which hierarchy of the institutes as to the criteria of

“possession of control”, the level of implementation/ non-

implementation of the goals of civil associations is important.

It seems that supporters of institutionalism have trust in

predetermination of institutional conditions and mechanisms

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2019, Volume 7, Issue 3, Pages: 418-425

control, in which the current problems are the sphere of state

purchases, audit of financial expenditures for social

programs, and inspection of the activities of structures that

ensure social infrastructure of the region (8,11,13). The

researchers also pay attention to the new direction of socio-

legal control that is connected to ecological, residential, and

gender problems.

The South Russian region is interesting due to the fact

that with the model indicators of socio-economic

development and socio-demographic dynamics within the

regional space the differences in the approaches to socio-

legal control from civil associations are manifested. The

reason is not just rootedness (or not) of civil society and

insufficiency of experience of interaction with government

institutes. Other very important factors are resource

provision, professionalism, energy, and purposefulness – i.e.,

creation of consolidated society and the capability to pose as

an independent social force.

In 1990’s, the South Russian region became the space of

socio-political turbulence – i.e., felt the influence of the crisis

phenomena in the socio-economic life – and had the

movements that were strange as compared to the official

public and political mainstream (Cossack, ethnic, anarchist),

which acted in the regime of “negative” democracy. In this

context, socio-legal control was interpreted for the purpose of

“gaining power” and was reproduces in the form of tough

opposition to the existing government institutes. The Russian

researcher V.G. Fedotova, emphasizing the Russian society’s

undergoing the period of anarchy, noted the manifestation of

anarchist tendencies connected to weakness of regional

authorities and absence of coordination of the federal and

regional authorities (7).

The destructive influence for the Southern Russia’s

regional community was the lack of social institutes and

conflict of identities, which complicated the development of

mature civil associations. “Non-civil” communities, claiming

to express interests of the marginal groups of population,

used the mottoes of populism and street democracy and were

a barrier on the path of development of the system of socio-

legal control. In order to understand socio-legal control in a

regional community not as a state but as a movement toward

the social order, one can “build” the criteria of civil

associations as subjects of socio-legal control. Social

mobilization of civil associations of Southern Russia’s

regional community was weak against the background of the

capital’s centers, but is also had its specific features in the

traditions of self-organization and self-regulation, connected

to concentration of intellectual capital (high share of

scientific intelligence and workers of the sphere of education,

intensity of contacts with public structures in Moscow and St.

Petersburg, creation of proto-civil associations in the basis of

organizational structures of the previous period (professional

unions and public organizations) (28,29). A vivid advantage

is that the current 2,600 civil associations account for 10-15%

socially active population, and 30-40% of “public activists”

are people aged 25-40 (5). This positively influences the level

of social mobilization, as there are no age disproportions,

tough there’s a problem of inter-generation interaction.

Socio-legal control is complicated in societies with a high

share of socially dependent population (seniors, large

families, and groups that are not adapted socially). Civil

structures of the South Russia’s region formed against the

background of support from the capital’s civil society, as the

South Russia’s region is close to Moscow and St. Petersburg

as to the factors of territorial and social distancing, is located

at the joint of Russian borders, and has a developed cultural

and information infrastructure.

Thus, it is possible to speak that the array of research

literature on this problem is diverse, but it still preserves the

“non-sovereign” scheme of socio-legal control from civil

associations in a regional community. This provision is

determined by the setting of vertical integration in the

activities of government institutes, which excludes division

of the sphere of competence between government institutes

and civil associations, for civil associations of a regional

community in the sphere of socio-legal control have

insufficient initiative in independence decisions, work in the

regime of “looking back at central structures” or within the

limits set by the regional authorities.

Discussion

The sphere of socio-legal control in

a regional

community is characterized mainly by application of the

administrative and legal procedures by the structures that

have legal competence; as a result, 35,000 government

structures have the authority to perform inspection and

control. The system of management at the regional level

contains the mechanisms of institutional self-reproduction,

and socio-legal control is aimed at preservation of stability of

managerial influence on the regional community. According

to the Russian researchers, the managerial and political

component was actually created by “mandatory” institutes

(

15). The result is, firstly, implementation of the model of

socio-legal control, which could be qualified as vertically

integrated and oriented at domination-sub-domination on the

career ladder. Thus, civil associations are treated as

“outside”, without the sufficient level of trust and

professionalism for interferences in the system of

management. Secondly, institutional preconditions of socio-

legal control in a regional community are formed within the

formal and legal norms and “sovereignty” and responsibility

of the management systems before itself, which determines

imbalance in the relations between government and civil

structures in which the legal mechanism are concentrated in

the pole of power. Thirdly, specifics of regional community

in the Russian general regional space consist in the fact that

socio-legal control is compared to the image of regional

authorities, their power and closeness to the federal center.

There appears an opinion that the scales and goals of socio-

legal control are connected to the criterion of loyalty of the

regional elite and to the level of work of public authorities at

the regional level from the point of view of benefit for

implementation of the tasks that are set by the center.

Another important aspect, connected to the fact that the

possibilities of socio-legal control in a regional community

are narrowed down as to the federal social programs and

projects in which the system of management at the regional

level performs the role of a referral agent consists in the

following. Leaving aside the prejudice that regional

community is peculiar for traditionalism and socio-cultural

underrun, one must acknowledge that in regional community

civil structures are guarantors of more effective and socially

expedient interaction with government institutes.

As to the socio-professional criterion, it is obvious that

recruiting into the civil structures of regional community was

determined, firstly, by integration into civil activity of

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representatives of not only highly-educated urban groups but

also young activists, who wished to occupy an independent

niche due to dissatisfaction with their position in “adult”

political parties. Secondly, professional background of civil

activists is connected economic or technical education, which

raised the interest to the applied expertise of the activities of

government structures. A vivid example is the fact that socio-

legal control influenced the spheres of reconstruction of the

housing and utilities infrastructure (24% queries),

development of logistics infrastructure (16%), land problem

associations in a region becomes unstable, but, due to the

voluntary character, the interest from youth increases (56%),

as the region’s youth show positive interest to the activities of

civil associations that are involved with socially important

issues, and 29% of the respondents directly participated in

volunteer actions (21).

Obviously, the perspectives of expansion of participation

of civil associations in socio-legal control are determined by

collective intentionality, based on understanding regional

identity as civil self-implementation. It is possible to say that

civil associations are interested at All-Russia indicators, and

the regional component plays an inferior role in this. In other

words, there’s a dependence of treating the perspectives of

influence on the sphere of socio-legal control in regional

community on the state of this direction of civil activity in

other regions of Russia. On the one hand, this is a positive

moment, as civil associations realize similarity of the

problems that are connected to the influence on government

institutes in other regions of Russia. However, a barrier of

“apathy” appears – slow reaction to the current socio-legal

problems.

Poor development of the legal direction in formation of

civil associations as subjects of socio-legal control is

expressed in the fact that, firstly, insufficient attention is paid

to the expert evaluation of regional normative acts that

regulate the ecological sphere, the sphere of socio-labor

relations, youth policy, and legal regulation of property

conflicts and civil conflicts. It is a paradox, but concentrating

on practical actions, civil associations have incomplete legal

potential and do not work with professional legal corps.

Usage of tools of public opinion and conduct of protests and

other irregular actions create an impression of “imitation” of

actions.

Probably, civil associations in South Russia act by force

of habit, following the lead of popular initiatives, which

significantly narrows down the opportunities of usage of the

legal and organizational resources for increasing the

effectiveness of socio-legal control. In particular, the practice

of public hearings and public expertise, as procedures of

socio-legal control, is not developed sufficiently. Regional

administrations have public chambers with representatives of

civil associations, who have all-Russian background or tested

schemes of interaction with government structures at the

regional level.

Not denying the usefulness of activities of public

chambers, one cannot say that they achieved the quality of

“umbrella-type” structures that allow implementing the

principle of quality of opportunities for all the existing civil

associations. This is expressed in the fact that within the

public chamber only 10-15% of civil associations show

activity, while other civil associations work within joint

projects with all-Russia civil associations or are localized in

their activities and do not go beyond the important, but local,

problems. Thus, civil associations in South Russia’s regional

community have not achieved the level of consolidation that

would allow them acting as a subject of socio-legal control. It

is possible to say that there’s a shift towards socio-legal

control with perspective of equal partnership with

government institutes, but in this process government

institutes perform the role of a case manager, not a

moderator, of interaction with civil associations.

(49%), and protection of water space (12%). In other words,

the potential of development of civil society in the region

according to the All-Russia classification puts regional

community on the 18 – 21 positions (4). Priority of

practical tasks in the sphere of socio-legal control and

concentration of efforts on the regional problems formed. In

view of a wide public resonance, caused by the fate of small

rivers, the Sea of Azov, land use, and preservation of

architectural image of cities and communities, socio-legal

control is connected to evaluation of activities and influence

on decision making at the regional and municipal levels.

On the one hand, this allowed accelerating the process of

social mobilization – however, the complexity (which still

remains) consists in the fact that civil structures have not

achieved the balance of goals and interests with government

institutes, feel the influence of lobbyism of regional business

structures, and, as a rule, have a waiting attitude in conflict

situations, following the principle of “opportunism”.

Paying attention to unsatisfactory activities of

government institutes as to specific regional problems, civil

associations make insufficient efforts for claiming

independence, offering alternative solutions, and passing

from dissatisfaction with administrative pressure to law

enforcement practices. Civil structures use court procedures

only in 6-7% of conflict situations. Hence, with careful

attitude to the method of protest expressions of will and

organization of events in the public space, the socio-legal

problems do not form the collective intentionality. Within

region’s civil structures we can see conflict of ambitions and

interests, which cannot be compared to the real resource base.

It is possible to suppose that the first generation of civil

activities, which is based on the traditions of the “Soviet

assets and interested regional business structures, is

somewhat bewildered by the actual tasks of socio-legal

control.

The habit of working according to the principle of

“professional activism” and not treating new regional

realities as the ones requiring coordination of the interests of

various subjects of action create the effect of “yesterday”.

When two post-Soviet generations with a different system of

ideological coordinates and realization of significance of own

choice and separation from “leadership” and “obligation”

entered a new period, civil socio-legal control became

significant in due to the place and role of structure of a new

type. Acting according to the principle of situational

mobilization in the context of network communication (the

share of Internet users in the region reaches 75-80%), small

civil groups do not strive for quantitative indicator (number

of participants), for they value public resonance, influence on

the position of government institutes on the basis of

actionism, and cultural and symbolic events, which show the

direction of social mobilization to the model of “voluntary

and irregular participation”. In this sense, the number of civil

Conclusions

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Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2019, Volume 7, Issue 3, Pages: 418-425

Analyzing the activities of civil associations in South

Russia’s regional community on the basis of usage of

sociological information for Rostov Oblast (as we refer to it

as to the indicators of concentration of government institutes,

leadership in formation and development of civil associations

and articulation in the public and legal space of the problems

that are important for socio-legal control), it is possible to

make the following conclusions.

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community are in implicit competition with “non-civil”

communities”, which appeared in the period of anarchy of

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990’s and use the tradition of unwritten law in relations with

government institutes (ethnic, social and domestic, and

confessional norms) – which is proved by civil associations’

occupying peripheral positions regarding the problems that

require socio-legal control (conflicts in the sphere of land

use, residential construction, fighting juvenile crimes, and

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Secondly, orienting at the status of subjects of socio-legal

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corridor of opportunities in interaction with government

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status of agents of socio-legal control, acting according to the

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