Abstract
Engagement with Russian civil society is the least contested part of the EU’s current and expected future approach to Russia. There is broad agreement on the need to conduct a dialogue with Russian citizens and to facilitate people-to-people contacts, as well as to support civil society as such. However, this general goal is not fully matched by a clear understanding of what the basic features and sentiments of Russian society are today. This article seeks to sketch an unvarnished picture of Russian society, knowledge of which is essential for the effective design and successful conduct of any engagement activities (their formats, channels of communication and content). The key problems include the lack of enthusiasm among ordinary Russians for the European project, and their growing confusion—fuelled by authoritarian control and disinformation—about European institutions and norms.
Highlights
The European political world is still reverberating with echoes of the recent spat induced by the last-minute initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to convince other EU member states ahead of the 24–5 June European Council meeting to restart high-level meetings with Russia (Fleming et al 2021)
The 24–5 June European Council meeting took into account this report in its discussion on EU–Russia relations (European Council 2021, 6)
Such engagement includes two parts: the relationship with the Russian authorities and the relationship with the broader Russian civil society
Summary
The European political world is still reverberating with echoes of the recent spat induced by the last-minute initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to convince other EU member states ahead of the 24–5 June European Council meeting to restart high-level meetings with Russia (Fleming et al 2021). This paper focuses on the third pillar of the Joint Communication from the point of view of the intended addressee, that is, Russia, or the Russian people Such engagement includes two parts: the relationship with the Russian authorities (this topic will be left to one side as it is worthy of a separate analysis) and the relationship with the broader Russian civil society. The authoritarian model of governance in the country complicates efforts to hold an authentic dialogue with truly independent representatives of civil society This calls for a modest and tailored approach, while keeping more ambitious goals of engagement for the future
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