Public Control of Armed Forces in the Russian Federation by Nadja Douglas

Author:Nadja Douglas
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Cham

6.3 Characteristics of Activism in the Security and Defence Sphere

6.3.1 Differences Between the Centre and Periphery

As in many other countries, civic activism in Russia is an urban phenomenon. 7 Interview data confirmed that people in villages and rural areas feel less part of civil society in the broader sense and have less means (due to lower incomes) available to become engaged. The lack of corresponding social infrastructure is an additional factor. Innovative potential, experience and familiarity with national and international networks equally affect the level of activism (Belokurova and Vorob’ev 2011, 81). As a consequence, there are huge differences in societal activism between the Russian centre and the periphery and, moreover, little coordination between them. Richter aptly speaks of “segmentation along regional lines” (Richter 2009, 13) as a defining characteristic of the sphere of Russian CSOs . In fact, most civic organisations in the regions orient their activities towards regional and local authorities rather than towards policy-makers in Moscow. Often, local authorities are more approachable and accessible to activists since they welcome the opportunity to delegate functions, especially social ones, to CSOs. Even more important, many organisations outside Moscow and St. Petersburg have no choice but to rely on resources from local authorities in order to survive (Richter 2009, 13).

These general remarks concerning the geographic manifestation of civic activism also apply to civic engagement in the realm of the military. Nonetheless, there are a few particularities that are worth mentioning. Part of the strength of civic initiatives in the sphere of soldier rights protection and military monitoring is that it is a Russia-wide phenomenon with representatives in almost every region or bigger Russian city. Soldier rights protection is an omnipresent topic in Russia. Beyond the metropolitan areas of Moscow and St. Petersburg , there are hubs of civic activism in the military sphere in places that tend to be still heavily militarised (in the present sample this is the Murmansk region), have a stronger inclination towards liberal civic activism due to political and social circumstances (Perm ’ and Voronezh) and display a strong ethnic identity (in the present sample this is Tatarstan 8 ).

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