Russian Pluralism—Now Irreversible?

227 Pages·1992·21.113 MB·English

by  Uri Ra’anan, Keith Armes, Kate Martin (eds.)

RUSSIAN PLURALISM
NOW IRREVERSIBLE?
Also by Uri Ra' anan
Ethnic Resurgence in Modem Democratic States (editor)
Gorbachev's USSR (co-editor)
Guerrilla Warfare and Counterinsurgency (editor)
Hydra of Carnage (co-editor)
Inside the Apparat (with Igor Lukes)
The Soviet Empire and the Challenge of National and
Democratic Movements (editor)
State and Nation in Multi-Ethnic Societies (co-editor)
The USSR Arms the Third World
The USSR Today and Tomorrow (editor)
RUSSIAN PLURALISM
NOW IRREVERSIBLE?
Edited by
Uri Ra'anan, Keith Armes, and Kate Martin
with a contribution by Yelena Bonner
Palgrave Macmillan
© Institute for the Study of Conflict, Ideology & Policy 1992
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1992 978-0-312-08648-0
All rights reserved. For infonnation, write:
Scholarly & Reference Division,
St. Martin's Press, Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
First published in the United States of America in 1992
ISBN 978-1-349-60663-4 ISBN 978-1-137-11917-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-137-11917-9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Russian pluralism, now irreversible? / edited by Uri Ra'anan, Keith Annes,
and Kate Martin; with a contribution by Yelena Bonner.
p. cm.
Includes index.
1. Political culture-Fonner Soviet republics. 2. Pluralism
(Social sciences)-Fonner Soviet republics. 3. Civil rights-Fonner
Soviet republics. 4. Fonner Soviet republics-Politics and government.
I. Ra'anan, Uri, 1926- . II. Annes, Keith.
III. Martin, Kate.
JN6581.R87 1992
306.2'0947-<lc20 92-28597
CIP
This book is dedicated to the memory of
ANDREI SAKHAROV
CONTENTS
Pluralism and Democratization
Uri Ra'anan ................................ 1
Part I: Political Pluralism
Toward a Multiparty System?
Vera Tolz .................................. 9
The Legislative Process-Institutionalized?
Robert T. Huber . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . ............ 27
Civil Authority and the Security Organs
J. Michael Waller .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Part II: Law and Society
Toward a Law-Abiding State?
Nina Belyaeva . . . . . . . .. .................... 71
Individual and Group Rights
Yelena Bonner . . . . . . . . . . ............ 93
Human Rights: Established or Precarious?
Richard Schifter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Part III: Pluralism in the Media
The "Independent Media"
Nicholas Daniloff . . . . .. ..................... 127
Press Freedom: New Dangers
Vitaly Korotich ........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
The Impact of Foreign Broadcasts
Savik: Shuster .............................. 147
Part IV: The Role of Religion
The Orthodox Church and a Pluralistic Society
Kent R. Hill ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 165
Growing Protestant Diversity in the Former Soviet Union
Mark Elliott and Robert Richardson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
About the Editors and Contributors ................... 215
Index ................................... 219
-
Pluralism and Democratization
Uri Ra'anan
It
is not unreasonable to ask why this book focuses on the concept of
"pluralism" rather than "democracy." Of course, democracy is the desirable
end product, at least as far as the non-"Islamic" republics of the former Soviet
Union are concerned. (In the Middle Eastern Islamic environment, for
example, in Algeria, experience has demonstrated that democratization may
result in a decidedly antidemocratic product, to wit: potential access to power
of fundamentalist movements with evident totalitarian tendencies.) In Rus
sia, unfortunately, as in almost all former Soviet republics (with the possible
exception of the Baltic states), a free and open political culture resulting from
a continuous democratic experience of some duration is simply lacking. The
baby steps of the Duma at the beginning of the century and the all-too-brief
experience of the provisional government of 1917 could not suffice to serve
as a springboard for democratization.
Development of a democratic culture requires an infrastructure of non
arbitrary behavior, respect for law, and the legitimation that such practices
confer, as well as the existence of a "civil society," i.e., a sizable segment of
the population that, through its spontaneous social, economic, and political
interactions and organization, can participate actively in the life and gover
nance of the state.
Above all, such a society requires not only toleration of and respect for
pluralism, but the institutionalization of group rights-whether these be of
a political, ethnic, socioeconomic, religious, professional, or civic character.
Whatever repositories of a civil society had come into existence at the
2 Russian Pluralism-Now Irreversible?
beginning of the current century in Russia were erased during subsequent
generations that were products of a totalitarian regime.
The result was fissiparous: the only intermediate entities permitted to exist
between an arbitrary regime and the individual were the "transmission
belts"-the regimented so-called "mass organizations"-through which the
leadership disseminated information and ensured adherence to its directives.
Thus, Soviet "society" came to be atomized, consisting of little more than
alienated individuals, mutually suspicious and antagonistic-remarkably
similar to the Hobbesian universe.
The scholars and practitioners who collaborated in the production of this
work attempted to address the sociopolitical organisms that would have to
be fully developed and secured in Russia so that genuine democratization
could ensue. Without pretending that our survey could encompass all of the
elements required to build such an infrastructure, we focused on four that
were felt generally to be most significant if pluralism was to become a
permanent and irreversible feature of the Russian polity: free, open, and
spontaneous political debate and organization; a genuine legal basis to
relieve the population from constant exposure to arbitrary action; truly
independent electronic and print media; and liberty to choose (and the means
to practice) religious observance. Detailed analysis of a fifth element-full
cultural and educational facilities as well as political equality for ethnically
diverse groups-was omitted since this topic was amply covered in two of
the Institute's previous books, State and Nation in Multi-Ethnic Societies
and The Soviet Empire and the Challenge of National and Democratic
Movements.
The present work may be viewed as an examination of potentially decisive
developments in a transitional stage of post-totalitarian society. Such an
analysis can be appropriately evaluated only by comprehending the role of
that transition within a broader conceptual framework, as outlined here:
1) During the totalitarian stage, civil society is not only inhibited but is
actually destroyed (in as far as it has been able to develop), as are entire
classes (e.g., a free peasantry). On the other hand, a "political process" of
sorts is set in motion because the leader, in a way, encourages factional strife.
Since it is in his interest to keep contenders for succession at odds with one
another, he deliberately creates duplicatory or overlapping institutional
parameters, thus involving his lieutenants in unending battles for turf.
Moreover, by so doing, he prevents any subordinate from attaining poten
tially dangerous monopolies over vital sectors (security, military forces,
etc.). In these power struggles, the contenders need "troops," which are
recruited in typically feudal fashion from personal retainers who owe loyalty