Russian Civil Society

Abstract

We understand civil society, in the very classical sense, as referring to the sphere of human activity outside of the family, the state and the market—for all intents and purposes, the “third sector”, which is created by individual and collective actions, norms, values and social relations, to deliver a number of specific functions, including socialisation, service, articulation and mobilisation. And we argue in this chapter that the governing intellectual and policy interest in civil society in Russia today and for the foreseeable future must be based on the hypothesis that any meaningful increase over time in the negotiating power of civil society in its interactions with the state and the private sector—specifically in respect of the redistribution of benefits in favour of weak groups—will improve the quality of governance and life in Russia, not least because civil society is a key force in identifying and helping to fill gaps in the country’s economic, political and legal institutions.