Why do the Russians succumb to the "strong-hand" government? Historical-cultural legitimacy of the Russian state leadership in the context of Yuri Pivovarov's theory

In: Przegląd narodowościowy: Review of nationalities, Band 7, Heft 1, S. 119-135

Abstract

Abstract
State leadership in Russia is determined by historical and cultural as well as by legal and institutional premises. The analysis of ways of obtaining legitimacy by state leaders of the Russian Federation is a borderline issue of political science, sociology, and history. The conditions that favor the creation of the archetype on the Russian ground are undoubtedly: extremely centralized political power in Russia (one central decision-making center whose decisions were arbitrarily arbitrary), the problem of the enforcement of the rules of the trilateral division of power (the legislative sphere dominated the legislature), the low level of control Social rulers (lack of effective legal mechanisms to verify the effects of their activities), paternalism of the leadership system and low participation of representative institutions in public life. The aim of the article is to situate in the field of considerations about the archetype of Russian power the concept of Yuri Pivovarov, according to which not only civilization baggage and the immaturity of civil society have decided the legitimacy of the state leadership of the Russian Federation. According to him, the problem of the participation of the political elite in the redistribution of goods (and the low level of participation of citizens in the process of ownership separation) is of significant importance. According to the theory of the Russian political scientist, the basis for understanding the phenomenon of Russian state leadership is the combination of elements of archetypal leadership with a proper interpretation of the relation of freedom – property.