Suchergebnisse

The authors analyze the data of nation-wide surveys of the 2000-s and trace changes in the attitude of various groups of the Russians towards Duma and the President election during these years, the dynamics and motives of participation in election and draw a conclusion that the functions of this democratic institution have undergone dramatic transformation during «Putin» period and it has actually turned into an obedient instrument of ritual acclamation of the working authorities. December 2011 Election to Duma is scrutinized most closely: the Russian population dispositions before the Election, motivation of participation and non-participation in electoral process, shifts in electorate of the major parties, the level of satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the results, Muscovites protest reaction to the Election results and the attitude of the country population to the protest actions in December 2011 – March 2012. Discussing the issue of justice, «transparency», honesty of the Election and the scale of its results falsification by and in the interests of the authorities, the authors raise the question of sociological typology of electoral behavior under specific conditions of totalitarian control over political sphere, the processes of parties' formation, mass media activities in the absence of political and civil freedom of population.

The article sets for th the findings of the Russian national sur vey carr ied ou t in 2010 with the suppor t of Econom om ic Analysis Bur eau and Wor ld Bank. The citizens are not mu ch interested in jur idical help: in solving their private or business pro blems 70% of adult Russians can do withou t it. The vast major ity of others tur ned to cour ts first of all for solving their family pro blems. The respondents, especially those who have had an experience of cour t pro cedur es show a high level of distru st to the cour t, critical estimations of judicial system mainly connected with judges' dependency on the author ities. It's wor th noting that the Russians tru st in the least degree those cour ts which they know mo st of all abou t: the cour ts of general jur isdiction of variou s levels. Mor e than half of the Russian population (and mo st often top managers and businessmen) don't feel themselves pro tected by law. The respondents mention corru ption in government bodies as one of the mo st acute issues facing the cou ntry and its leadership. All these factor s underm ine law consciou sness of the citizens, their faith in the for ce of law. At the same time, people have a very slight idea of how the present Russian judicial system is or ganized, think the inform ation abou t cour ts and pro secutor 's office to be extremely scarce, they admitting their almo st com om plete absence of interest to these issues. The respondents believe the following measur es to be indispensable for raising the author ity of the Russian cour ts: granting actual independence of judges; pro viding the public with better inform ation of the cour ts wor k, overcom om ing the closedness of judicial system; election of judges by population and secur ing the right of their recall; raising the level of judges' com om petence, impro ving their education quality.

The paper is a concise version of the research carried out in 2012 in five Republics of the North Caucasus: Dagestan, Ingushetia, KabardinoBalkaria, Karachayevo-Cherkessia, and Chechnya. The authors analyze the respondents' overall evaluation of the situation, beliefs about the main social issues and existing threats, trust to social institutions, perception of economic problems, situation in education and healthcare, the influence and role of Islam, attitudes to civil rights and political preferences. The main reasons for respondents' tensions and anxieties are connected with economic sphere and are common to Russia on the whole: prices growth, increasing unemployment, dramatic social differentiation. The inhabitants of all the five Republics distrust the main institutions of the Russian society (excluding personalized power figures and symbolic significance of power structures), are extremely dissatisfied with the work of absolute majority of governmental social services, with the condition of social environment and social communications in their Republics, including general and higher education, health care system, support of young generation, business favoring climate. Poly-ethnic Republics – Kabardino-Balkaria, Dagestan, and in some respects Karachayevo-Cherkessia are the pole of the greatest tensions and anxieties. The pole of more positive evaluations is Chechnya where, besides being mono-ethnic, particular relations with the Federal Center and strict order of monopolized inner management have established. Respondents in Ingushetia point to the threatening level of corruption, terrorism and personal unprotectedness, arbitrary rule of the authorities, growing indications of anomy, increasing negative emotional background of existence.