The first steps of Russia's public chamber: Representation or coordination?

Demokratizatsiya

Volumn 16, Issue 4, 2008, Pages 345-362

  Evans Jr , Alfred ^a  

^a CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Civil society; Nongovernmental organizations; Public Chamber; Russia; Vladimir Putin

Indexed keywords

CIVIL SOCIETY; CONFLICT MANAGEMENT; NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION;

EURASIA; RUSSIAN FEDERATION;

EID: 67249095130     PISSN: 10746846     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.3200/DEMO.16.4.345-362     Document Type: Article

References (96)

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2. Larry Diamond, Developing Democracy: Toward Consolidation (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999), 221.
3. Alfred B. Evans Jr., "Vladimir Putin's Monocentric Design" (paper, Annual Conference of the Western Social Science Association, Albuquerque, NM, April 2005).
4. Alfred B. Evans Jr., "Putin and Civil Society" (paper, Annual Convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, Boston, MA, December 2004); Masha Lipman, "How Russia Is Not Ukraine: The Closing of Russian Civil Society," Russian and Eurasian Project Policy Outlook, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, January 2005, http://www .carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=16420 (accessed January 31, 2005).
5. John Squier, "Civil Society and the Challenge of Russian Gosudarstvennost," Demokratizatsiya 10, no. 2 (2002): 177. John Squier currently is the senior program officer for Russia and Ukraine at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, D.C.
6. Vladimir Putin, "Vystuplenie na rasshirennom zasedanii Pravitelstva s uchastiem glav subektov Rossiiskoi Federatsii," September 13, 2004, Web Site of the President of Russia, http://presi dent.kremlin.ru/appears/2004/09/ 13/1514-type63374type63378type82634-76651.shtml (accessed September 31, 2004).
7. "Putin Inks Public Chamber Law," RIA Novosti, April 4, 2005.
8. "First Members of Russian New Public Chamber Explain Plans for Its Structure," Russia T V, BBC Monitoring, October 6, 2005.
9. Georgy Ilichev, "All the President's Third," Izvestiya, October 3, 2005, reprinted in Current Digest of the Post-Soviet Press 57, no. 20 (2005): 7.
10. Maria-Luiza Tirmaste and Irina Nagornykh, "Lobbizma i protalkivaniya ya ne nablyudal," Kommersant, November 17, 2005.
11. Anatoly Medetsky, "Four Seen as Critical Voices in Chamber," Moscow Times, January 20, 2006.
12. Anatoly Medetsky, "Putin Gives Public Chamber a Warning," Moscow Times, January 23, 2006.
13. Vladimir Putin, "Russia's Rulers and Public Must Unite against Terrorism," RTR Russia TV, BBC Monitoring, September 13, 2004.
14. "Federation Council Approves Law on Public Chamber," Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union (TASS), March 23, 2005.
15. "Rights Campaigners Blast Moscow's Public Forum Bill," Ekho Moskvy Radio, BBC Monitoring, January 12, 2005.
16. Nikolai Petrov, "Where the State and Society Meet," Moscow Times, January 18, 2006.
17. "Kremlin-Backed Advisory Convenes; Critics Deride It as 'Puppet Theater,'" Associated Press, January 22, 2006.
18. Aleksandr Auzan, "Vlasti nuzhen surrogatnyi organ," Kommersant-vlast, October 10, 2005.
19. Dmitry Kamyshev, "Organ 'Za zaslugi otechestvom,'" Kommersant, January 23, 2005.
20. Andrei Gromov, "Kak daleko zaedet eto pyatoe koleso?" Ekspert, October 10, 2005.
21. Anatoly Kucherena, "The Mind of the Chamber," Rossiiskaya gazeta, December 19, 2005.
22. "Russia's Public Chamber to Begin Active Work 'Next Week,'" TASS, January 23, 2006.
23. "Public Chamber Revolts against Tighter State Control of NGOs," TASS, November 17, 2005.
24. "Russian Public Chamber Asks MPs to Postpone Adapting Bill on NGOs," Interfax, BBC Monitoring, December 3, 2005.
25. Kucherena, "The Mind of the Chamber."
26. Aleksei Chebotarev, "Probnyi kamen Obshchestvennoi palaty: Chleny novogo organa obeschchayut pokazat zuby," Nezavisimaya gazeta, December 26, 2005.
27. Medetsky, "Putin Gives Public Chamber a Warning."
28. Andrei Kolesnikov, "Eto taki dobryi kulachok," Kommersant, January 23, 2006.
29. Natalya Kostenko, "Obshchestvennaya palata vplotnuyu zaimetsya Gosdumoi," Nezavisimaya gazeta, January 24, 2006.
30. Syuzanna Farizova and Irina Nagornykh, "Obshchestvennaya palata reshila vnedryatsya v Gosdumu," Kommersant, February 2, 2006.
31. Ivan Rodin and Aleksei Chebotarev, "Veliko vpitaet opyt Gryzlova," Nezavisimaya gazeta, February 2, 2006.
32. Natalya Kostenko and Ivan Rodin, "Ograditsya ot Obshchestvennoi palaty," Nezavisimaya gazeta, February 21, 2006.
33. Ibid.
34. Irina Nagornykh and Syuzanna Farizova, "Obshchestvennaya palata ne ulozhilas v dumskii reglament," Kommersant, February 22, 2006.
35. Syuzanna Farizova, "Gosduma soglasilas popravit reglament," Kommersant, March 3, 2006.
36. Natalya Kostenko and Aleksandra Samarina, "Without Being Weaned," Nezavisimaya gazeta, February 23, 2006.
37. Natalya Kostenko, "Dogovor o vzaimopomoshchi," Nezavisimaya gazeta, February 27, 2006.
38. Ibid.
39. Irina Nagornykh, "Obshchestvennaya palata vyshla na proektnuyu moshchnost," Kommersant, January 24, 2006.
40. Nagornykh, "Nekommercheskaya palata," Kommersant, January 31, 2006.
41. Farizova and Nagornykh, "Obshchestvennaya palata reshila vnedritsya."
42. Yevgeny Velikhov, "Interview with Evgenii Velikhov, Secretary of the Public Chamber," Itogi Weekly, February 27, 2006.
43. Oksana Yablokova, "Hundreds Rally for Ivanov's Ouster," Moscow Times, January 30, 2006.
44. "Russian Defense Minister Condemns 'Shameful' Hazing Incident," Agence France-Presse, January 27, 2006; Dmitry Vasilev and Olesya Ratoshnyuk, "General Sidorov to be Sacked - For Concealing Information about Private Sychov," Kommersant, January 28, 2006, Current Digest of the Post-Soviet Press 58, no. 5 (2006): 1-2.
45. Nagornykh, "Nekommercheskaya palata."
46. "Public Chamber Members Arrive in Chelyabinsk to Study Incident," TASS, January 31, 2006.
47. "Russian Defense Minister Earnest in Fight against Bullying - Watchdog Lawyer," Ekho Moskvy Radio, February 2, 2006; Georgy Ilichev and Dmitry Litovkin, "Fallout Mounts in Case of Maimed Conscript," Izvestiya, February 3, 2006, Current Digest of Post-Soviet Press 58, no. 5 (2006): 4-5.
48. Yuri Chernega, Ivan Safronov, Irina Nagornykh, and Yuliya Taratuta, "Obshchestvennaya palata privekla pravoshchitnikov dedovshchinoi," Kommersant, February 6, 2006.
49. Syuzanna Farizova, "Gosduma soglasilas popravit reglament."
50. Aleksandr Kolesnichenko, "In the Barracks All Is Nice and Calm," Novye izvestiya, February 16, 2006, Current Digest of Post-Soviet Press 58, no. 7 (2006): 2-3; Nabi Abdullaev, "Ivanov Says Hazing Not Army's Fault," Moscow Times, February 16, 2006.
51. "Deputy Defense Minister Hopes Russian Army Mentors Will Curb Bullying," NTV Mir, BBC Monitoring International Reports, April 15, 2006.
52. Oksana Yablokovo, "Sychov Attacker Gets Four Years in Prison," Moscow Times, September 26, 2006; Svetlana Gomzikova, "Chetyre goda za dedovshchinu," Nezavisimaya gazeta, September 27, 2006.
53. Semen Stolyarov and Arseny Vaganov, "Dedovshchina prikrylas prigovorom," Gazeta.ru, September 26, 2006.
54. Yablokovo, "Sychov Attacker Gets Four Years."
55. "Russian Official Hails Bullying Case Verdict as Lesson for Other Servicemen," Ekho Moskvy Radio, BBC Monitoring International Reports, September 26, 2006.
56. Tamara Smirnova, "Moskva: Po rynochnoi tsene ili po spravedlivosti," Rossiiskaya gazeta, June 19, 2006; Andrei Stepin, "Lovlya na zhiltsa," Gazeta.ru, June 19, 2006; Irina Petrakova and Andrei Stepin, "Pristavy napali na Butovo," Gazeta.ru, June 19, 2006.
57. "Ombudsman Calls for Suspending Butovo Residents Relocation," TASS, June 20, 2006; "Standoff between South Butovo Residents, Authorities Enters Second Day," TASS, June 20, 2006.
58. Irina Petrakova, "Butovo: Lyudi protiv buldozerov," Gazeta.ru, June 20, 2006.
59. Aleksei Trubashev, "Obshchestvennaya palata legla pod buldozer," Gazeta.ru, June 21, 2006.
60. Semen Stolyarov, "Vsem protiv mera," Gazeta.ru, June 22, 2006.
61. Andrei Stenin, "Obshchestvennaya palata ne dozhdalas mera," Gazeta.ru, June 23, 2006.
62. "Russian State TV Attacks Moscow Authorities over Evictions," BBC Monitoring, July 5, 2006.
63. Andrei Stenin and Elya Vermisheva, "Tretya butovskaya sila," Gazeta.ru, June 26, 2006.
64. Aleksandr Gudkov, "We Won't Put Up with Any Loutish Behavior," Vremya novostei, June 26, 2006, Current Digest of the Post-Soviet Press 58, no. 26 (2006): 14-15.
65. Alina Chernoivanova, "Otvetnaya barrikada," Gazeta.ru, June 28, 2006.
66. Andrei Stenin, "Operatsiya 'Domik v derevne,'" Gazeta.ru, June 28, 2006.
67. Nikolai Morozov, "Za polovinu kvadratnogo metra oni trebuyut odnokomnatnuyu kvartiru," Izvestiya, July 4, 2006.
68. Official Kremlin International News Broadcast, "Press Conference with Public Chamber Members Anatoly Kucherena, Nikolai Svanidze, and Vladimir Zhirnov," July 20, 2006.
69. "Relocation of Nine House Owners in Butovo Conflict Not Settled Yet," TASS, August 2, 2006.
70. Yuliya Ignateva and Anna Faizova, "Zhiteli okrain otbivayutsya ot mnogoetazhek," Izvestiya, July 26, 2006.
71. Elena Gorlanova, "Moskvichi gotovy Luzhkova prodat," Gazeta.ru, August 3, 2006.
72. There are reportedly about 2,000 members of the organization. See Aleksei Miridonov, "Yuriya Luzhkova atakuyut iz tsentra Moskvy," Kommersant, August 4, 2006. Ironically, the city planned to move some of those central city dwellers to new apartment buildings in South Butovo.
73. Yuliya Ignateva, "Opyt butovtsev doshel do tsentra goroda," Izvestiya, August 4, 2006.
74. Elya Vermisheva and Varvara Petrenko, "Pill khavat perestal!" Gazeta.ru, September 7, 2006.
75. Trubashev, "Obshchestvennaya palata legla."
76. Andrei Stenin, "Prazdnik na Bogucharskoi ulitse," Gazeta.ru, September 28, 2006.
77. Ivan Buranov, "Yuzhnoe Butovo zashchitili ot Yuriya Luzhkova," Kommersant, September 29, 2006. That certainly proved to be true. After unsuccessful negotiations between the city of Moscow and the Prokofev family, a district court in Moscow decided that the family would have to leave their home in South Butovo, but the city would have to compensate the family by paying them 1,544,000 rubles. Though that represented a large increase in compensation over what the city had first offered the family, Yuliya Prokofeva still resisted moving and pledged to appeal the decision. Anatoly Kucherena was still involved in the case on the side of the Prokofev family. See Andrei Stenin, "V Butove budet grazhdanskaya voina," Gazeta.ru, March 23, 2007; Vladimir Fedosenko, "Millioner bez novoselya," Rossiiskaya gazeta, February 24, 2007.
78. Luzhkov scored a personal victory when he and Vladimir Platonov, the speaker of the Moscow City Duma, won a lawsuit against Kucherena, however. In March 2007, a district court in Moscow found that Kucherena had damaged the reputations of Luzhkov and Platonov with his statements criticizing the city government concerning the events in South Butovo in June 2006. The court ordered Kucherena to pay 100,000 rubles to Luzhkov and 30,000 rubles to Platonov. Kucherena promised to appeal the decision. See Andrei Stenin, "Kucherena oskorbil na 130 tys. rublei," Gazeta.ru, March 5, 2007; Ivan Buranov and Andrei Kozenko, "Sud otsenil rol Anatoliya Kuchereny v butovskom konflikte," Kommersant, March 6, 2007.
79. Alfred B. Evans Jr., "Putin's Design for Civil Society," in Russian Civil Society: A Critical Assessment, ed. Alfred B. Evans Jr., Laura A. Henry, and Lisa McIntosh Sundstrom, 147-58 (Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 2006).
80. Fred Weir, "Putin's 'Chamber': A Parallel Parliament?" Christian Science Monitor, November 2, 2005.
81. "Obshchestvennaya palata Rossii ne ZhEK i ne Sobes," Interfax, February 19, 2007.
82. Irina Nagornykh, "Obshchestvennaya palata vyshla na proektnuyu moshchnost," Kommersant, January 24, 2006; Auzan, "Vlasti nuzhen surrogatnyi organ"; Natalya Kostenko, "Obshchest-vennaya palata soschitala dobrye dela," Nezavisimaya gazeta, August 3, 2006.
83. Aleksandra Samarina, "Palata pishet," Nezavisimaya gazeta, December 19, 2006. The "Other Russia" movement, led by Gary Kasparov and others, is vehemently opposed to the current political regime in Russia and has used public protests to communicate its opposition and attract attention around the world. The OP has proven its loyalty to Putin by publicly denouncing reports critical of the state of freedom and human rights in Russia, including reports by Freedom House and the U.S. Department of State.
84. See Andrei Kostenko, "Russia Refuses to be Put in Its Place," Kommersant, February 2, 2007;
85. "Public Chamber Decries U.S. Human Rights Report on Russia," RIA Novosti,March 7, 2007. Kucherena has been among those in the OP most vehemently rejecting critical evaluations of the situation in Russia by Western sources.
86. Irina Nagornykh, "Obshchestvennaya palata vyshla na proektnuyu moshchnost," Kommersant, January 24, 2006.
87. Ibid. Velikhov also stressed cooperation between the OP and the government in an interview with Pavel Dulman, "Obyazany vyslushat," Rossiiskaya gazeta, January 23, 2007.
88. Auzan, "Vlasti nuzhen surrogatnyi organ."
89. Samarina, "Palata pishet."
90. "Yabloko Deputy Chief, Public Chamber Figure Clash on Russian TV," NTV Mir, Moscow, BBC Monitoring, February 1, 2007.
91. Dulman, "Obyazany vyslushat."
92. Anatoly Medvedev, "We Are Not a Kremlin Reception Office," Moscow Times, January 23, 2007. Medvedev offers this assessment that in OP's the first year of existence: "The Duma largely ignored its suggestions" about bills that the Duma considered. In Dulman, "Obyazany vyslushat," Velikhov admitted, "Of course, the voice of the Public Chamber is not heard much in the decisive hearings in the parliament." In a July 2006 seminar, Roshal voiced his feeling that after the OP prepares recommendations and executive and legislative officials read them, "after all, as a rule, no one gives any response whatever." The OP's influence varies from one piece of proposed legislation to another, based on the issues involved, but that such influence is usually marginal. See Dmitry Vladimirov, "Roshal Complains to Journalists," Rossiiskaya gazeta, July 30, 2006.
93. After Roshal vented his frustration over the tendency of officials to ignore the OP's recommendations, he added, "There is some use from the Public Chamber." He then asked, "If I had not been a member of the Public Chamber, who would have let me into the meetings of government?" See Vladimirov, "Roshal Complains to Journalists." The Duma has been forced to give OP members some access to its hearings on proposed legislation. Also, when the OP arouses the public's concern about an issue, state officials are virtually guaranteed to give the issue their attention.
94. Samarina, "Palata pishet." The amount of time that two national television channels devoted to coverage of the OP's activities varied each month in 2006 - it peaked in June (the time of the confrontations in South Butovo) and decreased to a low point in December. Coverage of the OP in Russian newspapers has decreased since the later part of 2006 and on the whole was at a lower level in 2007 than it was in 2006. One reason for decreased coverage might be that the OP is no longer new and the novelty has worn off. Another reason may be that in 2007 none of its members were involved in a story evoking the degree of dramatic human interest that was aroused by the Sychov case or the conflict in South Butovo. Nevertheless, reports on the work of the OP still appear in the Russian press, and the chamber addresses a wide range of timely issues. Marina Ryklina, the head of the OP's press service, asserted that "all that we are able to do is to persuade, to demonstrate, to make noise, and attract public opinion." Aleksandr Latyshev and Viktoriya Sokolova, "Obshchest-vennaya palata: 5% godovykh," Izvestiya, January 22, 2007.
95. Natalya Kostenko, "Obshchestvennaya palata soschitala dobrye dela," Nezavisimaya gazeta, August 3, 2006.
96. Kira Latukhina, "Palata za god opustela," Vedomosti, December 28, 2006. Latukhina speculates that state power ("vlast") may have "prompted the obshchestenniki on what questions to pay attention to." No members of the chamber have confirmed that notion, and some have strongly denied it. Kucherena insisted, "No one has phoned me from the Kremlin and is giving any instructions." See "Obshchestvennaya palata," Interfax. Even if one supposes that officials in the presidential administration do not advise OP members to restrain themselves in relation to some issues, prudence would dictate an awareness of the limits imposed by the fact that the chamber owes its existence to the president of Russia and depends on him for its authority. As far as I am aware, there is no record of any public criticism of Putin or officials in his administration by OP members.