Civil Society Institutions in Russia - Current Status and Future Development

Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2019, Volume 7, Issue 4, Pages: 537-541

J. Environ. Treat. Tech.

ISSN: 2309-1185

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

Civil Society Institutions in Russia: Current Status

and Future Development

Aleksey S. Vrazhnov *, Suliman Sh. Sabiev²

¹Candidate of Juridical Sciences, Assistant professor of the Department of Сriminal Justice, Russian New University, E-mail:

va75@rambler.ru

Senior lecturer of the Department of Criminal Justice, Russian New University, E-mail: sabiev-suliman@rambler.ru

Received: 19/05/2019

Accepted: 27/08/2019

Published: 29/08/2019

Abstract

The appearance of the concept, meanings, and types of institutions of civil society is quite common in the scientific literature.

However, these works are mostly focused on dogmatic topics; the particular people’s associations that exist in the Russian Federation

and their derivative components, as a rule, remain outside the scope of research. The purpose of the conducted research was to highlight

and describe the most significant institutions of civil society at the domestic level, as well as to identify possible trends in their

development. The objectives of the study were to briefly review the main ideas of civil society from the moment of their origin in

Russia to the present days; to determine the content of the concepts of ‘civil society’ and ‘institute of civil society’ in relation to the

article presented; to analyze the significance of a number of people’s associations and their derivative components for the development

of civil society; and to highlight the prospects of domestic civil society institutions. The methodological basis of this work was

represented by dialectical materialism as a universal method of cognition. The following general and specific scientific methods such

as analogy, observation, description, modeling, historical and legalistic research methods were also used in the study. Resting on the

research of a numerous scientists, investigative journalists reports and personal practical experience, the authors came to the following

conclusion: the fundamental institutions of civil society in the Russian Federation are represented by non-profit organizations, the

media, scholars associations, as well as by various forms of social activity focused on the implementation of human and civil rights; it

is also fair to assume that civil society institutions will partly change and increase their influence on the power structures in the future.

Keywords: Civil Society, Civil Society Institution, People’s Associations, Non-Profit Organizations, Mass Media, Scholars

Associations, Forms Of Social Activity.

doctrine of civil society but also draw attention to the state of

affairs with the civil and political rights and freedoms in the

Russian Federation.

The ideas of civil society appeared in the Russian political

and legal thought in the XIX century and were expressed in the

writings of Mikhail Bakunin, Nikolai Korkunov, Peter

Kropotkin, Boris Chicherin, and other researchers (3, 5, 10, 17,

Introduction

There are quite many scientists addressing the topic of civil

society in Russia in their recent scientific publications. This

fact is largely due to the lack of meaningful competition in

state power, ineffective governmental economic policy, low

level of social security and the lack of social demand for moral

and (or) religious norms on the background of prevalence of

nihilistic views among the population; the latter phenomena

has been on the rise in recent decades.

However, the majority of research papers are still devoted

to historical and legal aspects of the development of civil

society and its general theoretical structural features. The

current state and development prospects of particular civil

society institutions in Russia are practically not discussed in

peer-reviewed scientific journals.

19, 22). Up to the 1917 Revolution timeline, Russian legal

experts and political scientists (Maksim Kovalevsky, Fyodor

Kokoshkin, Veniamin Khvostov, Gabriel Shershenevich et. al)

developed the theory of civil society; Russian academicians

suggested terminology, clarified the content, evaluated the

interrelationship with the state and its institutions, and

determined the role of each individual in the socio-legal

community (4, 12, 16).

In the period from 1917 to 1985 the topic of civil society

was not even mentioned by the official scientific press,

Therefore, the achievement of goals and objectives of the

presented study will not only make a certain contribution to the

Corresponding author: Aleksey S. Vrazhnov, Candidate of Juridical Sciences, Assistant professor of the Department of Сriminal

Justice, Russian New University, E-mail: va75@rambler.ru.

Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2019, Volume 7, Issue 4, Pages: 537-541

however, the particular issues of interaction between the state

and society, and of the implementation of human and civil

rights and freedoms were repeatedly discussed in samizdat (the

latter was a form of dissident activity in which individuals

reproduced underground publications by hand and passed the

documents from reader to reader). The issues of civil society

were addressed, in particular, in the famous samizdat

collection ‘From Under the Rubble’ (featured articles by

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Igor Shafarevich, and other

dissidents).

Nevertheless, the domestic scholars have returned to the

study of civil society as a kind of the system of people’s self-

organization only with the beginning of economic and political

reforms in the USSR, initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev. The

issues of civil society development back at the time were

actively discussed (in addition to scientific work) in the media,

namely, in newspapers (the most famous was the article by

Nina Andreyeva, clearly addressed to the authorities) (1) and

in television programs (such as ‘600 seconds’, ‘Glance’).

category, expressing its abstract and concrete nature, and

uniting and delimiting with other phenomena and institutions

of social life, as well as determining its value for each person.

As scattered examples of the definitions of the above-

mentioned concept, which are contained in the monographic

and periodical legal literature, one can quote the following:

1) Civil society is ‘a society of concerned citizens and

active participants in social processes; there is an internal unity

in the name of strategic social and political goals, provided no

existing conditions for irreconcilable propensity towards

conflict of various social classes, groups, or forces; the

existence of independent social mechanisms of public affairs

management is assumed; the society is not opposed to the state,

but proceeds from the need for mutual constructive interaction,

and manifests the utmost attention to the problems and

concerns of the individual, thus fostering citizens in the spirit

of a combination of individual and public interests’ (1);

2) ‘Civil society can be briefly defined as a system of non-

governmental organizations, associations, institutions,

establishments, political parties, professional and other unions,

and other non-governmental structures that interact with the

official authorities on the egalitarian basis’ (15);

Materials and methods

The study was outlined to analyze the views of domestic

3) ‘Civil society is represented by a system of social

researchers on the topic of civil society in Russia, define the

concepts of ‘civil society’ and ‘civil society institution’,

attribute the particular people’s associations and their

derivative components to the factual domestic institutions of

civil society, and to determine the prospects for the

development of civil society institutions in the coming years.

The research process was sequenced from the selection

and source-study of factual evidence to the interpretation of the

gathered information, the hypotheses and the formulation of

conclusions.

relations and institutions that function independently of

political power and are capable of influencing the latter’

(

Konstantin Strus) (14).

With reference to the topic of our research, the most

common definition also seems to be the most successful: civil

society is ‘a set of civil society institutions (16).

In turn, one has to agree with the Soviet and Russian legal

scholar, professor Yuri Tikhomirov, that the institution of civil

society may be considered as ‘a structural-legal way of

legitimate self-actualization and socialization of an individual,

determined by the constitutional principles of democracy and

the priority of human and civil rights and freedoms; the method

of direct expression of opinions, suggestions, positions of

citizens on issues of public concern; the way of direct

participation in making decisions of social significance’ (21).

The prime institutions of civil society are considered to be

the following people’s associations and their derivative

components: political parties, public organizations and

movements, professional and artistic unions, non-profit

organizations (including religious), forms of direct expression

of will of citizens (referendum, elections) and other forms

The case study was dialectical materialism, which allows

considering the institutions of civil society in Russia in their

development and interaction.

Other general and specific scientific methods included:

–

Observation: direct and purposeful perception and

recording (in a natural context) of the most significant

manifestations of the activities of domestic civil society

institutions;

–

Description: determining the admissibility of attributing

various people’s associations and their derivatives to domestic

civil society institutions, and presenting the relevant

characteristics;

(

including case-specific) of public activity (meetings, rallies,

–

Analogy: extending the knowledge obtained in the

marches, demonstrations, vigils, etc.), as well as media, local

communities, public councils under the state and municipal

authorities, labor collectives, and families (clans, kinships,

etc.) (8, 18, 21)

Among the various criteria for attributing any of people’s

associations or their derivatives to the institutions of civil

society (24), the determinants are the ones providing the

opportunity of influencing the adoption of managerial

decisions, as well as political and economic independence.

However, there are only a few institutions of civil society that

meet these criteria in current Russia.

process of studying the most characteristic ways of popular

participation in the domestic civil life to other people’s

associations and their derivative components;

–

Modeling: forecasting the prospects for the development

of domestic civil society institutions;

Historical: studying the dynamics of the development of

the ideas of civil society among domestic researchers;

Legalistic: comparing the definitions of the ‘civil

society’ term against each other.

–

Results and discussion

A unified approach to the definition of the concept of ‘civil

These subjectively include the following: non-profit

organizations, the media, and scholars’ associations, as well as

various forms of public activity, focused on the

implementation of civic and political rights and freedoms.

society’ and its substantive characteristic still has not been

formed in the research environment over the past decades.

Currently, there are many definitions of this inter-scientific

Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2019, Volume 7, Issue 4, Pages: 537-541

Authors tend to believe that other domestic civil society

institutions (described in the literature) such as civil forums,

local associations, religious organizations, the All-Russia

People's Front, and the Russian Union of Industrialists and

Entrepreneurs, are depended upon state (or municipal)

authorities and largely focused on business activities, solving

minor issues (6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 20, ).

staff) employ additional security guarantees; the media also

has the right to conduct journalistic investigations (25-28).

However, the official media are largely focused on the

international agenda, and the internal problems of the Russian

Federation are often ignored and, as a rule, objective data on

the factual state of affairs in the country is provided only by

independent Internet portals. Special attention among the

In the absence of an effective state policy aimed at

ensuring the implementation of constitutional norms in Russia,

the non-profits are, in fact, the most important institution of

civil society. Created to achieve social, charitable, cultural and

other purposes, non-profit organizations voluntarily assume

the functions of the state (or municipal) authorities, carrying

out assistance to people in difficult life situations, performing

educational work, rendering free legal assistance, etc., thus

media deserves the indie cinema, which vividly and artistically

demonstrates the life of ordinary people in the Russian outback

and their relationship with officials of various authorities,

employees of medical, educational and social institutions, and

also with the church. On the big picture, the independent

media, covering topical issues of defense for rights of citizens

and legal entities (as well as similar non-profit organizations),

are under constant pressure from the lobbying advantages of

administrative offices inherent to government institutions.

With respect to academic freedom still remaining in higher

educational institutions and scientific organizations, the

scholars associations are a specific institution of civil society;

they are featured by the opportunity to discuss various

theoretical concepts and practical matters among themselves,

including the issues that often unofficially discommended by

the authorities for public consideration (other than professional

taking charge of the ‘home front’ situation. A special place is

occupied by human rights organizations that contribute to the

disclosure of the facts of corruption at the highest levels of

power, and also supervise the objective counting of votes at

elections of various levels thus engaging in the activities that

actually are not implemented by political parties.³An

extremely negative domestic trend has emerged in recent years

on the part of government bodies, aimed at systematically

opposing independent non-profit organizations of various

case conferences). Among the scholars’ associations that have

human rights aspects, and entailing a decrease in the

real opportunity to influence the adoption of state (or

possibilities of effective protection of individual rights and

freedoms in litigations against the state.

municipal) decisions are public scientific-creative societies,

scientific schools, and one-time (or periodic) creative unions

The mass media organizations, despite the existing self-

administered censorship (inherent in many TV and radio

featuring particular academicians. At the same time, the

results of scientific research of the majority of scholars

associations remain unknown to a wide range of concerned

parties, since they are published in various unnamed

collections of virtual conferences or similar journals and are

distributed only among the authors of these articles.

broadcasters and printed sources) in covering topical issues of

the daily life of the country (or a particular subject of the

Russian Federation, municipality, community, etc.) still

represent a significant institute of civil society. The potential

of mass media consists from following components: media

standards are based on the classic constitutional ideals of

freedom of speech and pluralism; the media are born to create

an atmosphere of productive public debate; the media team is

a group of professionals working with socially relevant

information; media editorial offices (as well as journalists and

Meetings, rallies, demonstrations, marches, vigils, and

other public events conducted on various issues of

community life are the only form of direct expression of the

will of the people remaining available in the face of the actual

impossibility of holding a referendum in Russia and, as a

result, they represent the foremost unaffected institute of civil

The ‘Fair Aid’ humanitarian NGO established by Elizaveta Glinka (also known as Dr. Liza) is probably the most world-known Russian non-profit organization.

Such as the Movement for Defense of Voters' Rights "Golos" (the only NGO election watchdog active in Russia that is independent of the Russian government),

the Anti-Corruption Foundation established by Alexei Navalny, etc.

This opposition consists in the unreasonable bringing to administrative and criminal responsibility of the leaders of non-profit associations, the inclusion of legal

entities in the register of NPOs performing the functions of a foreign agent, conducting unreasonable inspections of the activities of particular organizations by

the state (or municipal) authorities, etc.

Self-censorship is most common in regional and local mass media; the latter, under conditions of a lack of funding, may become dependent upon government

and business entities.

With the few exceptions such as Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta (lit. New Gazette), well known for its critical and investigative coverage of Russian political

and social affairs; the print edition is this newspaper is still published 3 times a week.

In particular, these movies include The Fool, Living, Pagans, etc.

For instance, within the framework of forensic investigations, such issues include specific algorithms for committing certain crimes and methods for their

detection, features of special software used by law enforcement agencies, etc.

A good example is the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, which ‘brought together scientists of very different disciplines - naturalists, high-tech innovators

and humanities, all driven by a common desire to promote self-expression, creative personality, development of education, and expansion of fundamental and

applied scientific research’. See: Lagutkin, Trubnikov, Grudtsina; Op.cit.

The authors tend to broadly share the skepticism towards the scientific schools (including juridical ones), which is based on the fact that the most of the subject

matters on which representatives of these scholars associations continue to work for several decades are exhausted; the influence of old and eminent scholars on

the problems studied by young researchers is quite negative, and leads to their general bureaucratization and commercialization as well.

As a rule, such scholars associations are launched for joint discussion of one or several interrelated scientific problems and the subsequent publication of the

obtained results.

Such as online civic and social initiatives; creation of community groups monitoring the implementation of public demands by government authorities and

officials; forming a Deep State from among representatives of independent parties and non-profit organizations, leading experts in various fields of knowledge,

etc.

Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2019, Volume 7, Issue 4, Pages: 537-541

society. The most recent characteristic feature of nearly all

forms of social activity should be considered the disinclination

of people to put up with specific illegal or unfair decisions, as

well as with antisocial statements by particular representatives

The results of the study can be used by members of the

Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights in

their advisory and human rights activities. Summing up the

conducted research, it should be noted that the very being of

every citizen largely depends on the functioning of the

institutions of civil society, which is the basis of any free and

people-governed state. Therefore, it is the common

responsibility of the current and future generations to support

the various independent people’s associations and their

derivatives, focused on the defense for human rights.

of the state (or municipal) authorities. It should be also

acknowledged that civil society activists are increasingly

confronted with the unfriendly attitude from all levels of

government, and also become the object of manipulation by

various political forces that are seeking to use popular

discontent to upgrade their ratings. The outlined characteristic

of the current state of the prime people’s associations in Russia

and their derivative components allows assuming that on

retention of current domestic and abroad conditions, the

institutions of civil society will acquire the following

consistent development trends in the nearest future:

First, it will be the growing confrontation between the

authorities and the majority of civil society institutions, which

will be expressed, on the one hand, in an effort to fully

subordinate all people’s associations and their derivatives to

the interests of the state (including the use of quasi-social

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–

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