What Is the State of Russian Society After 20 Years of Putin?

alternative political models and programs and the private establishment of opposition political parties, this is not merely because there is a general feeling of apathy toward public affairs and a loss of that sense of higher responsibility; in other words, it is not just a consequence of the general demoralization. There is also a bit of healthy social instinct at work in this attitude. It is as if people sensed intuitively that ‘nothing is what it seems any longer,’ as the saying goes, and that from now on, therefore, things must be done entirely differently as well.” 8 experience of showed that self-organization is possible at the level of local urban communities. Society, which appeared from the outside to have made its peace with the tightening of the authoritarian state at all levels, remained free in reality. Its active members were prepared to take advantage of this freedom by at a minimum protecting their urban, seemingly nonpolitical rights and becoming potential agents of change capable of transforming society from a crowd of inhabitants into a community of citizens united by a common cause.”