Editor's Introduction

Abstract

Can Russia's nascent democratic institutions (a tricky matter, choosing the right adjective before democratic) develop far enough fast enough to avoid a descent into primitive authoritarianism? That is the question posed, directly or indirectly, by the first three of our authors in this issue. Roy Medvedev ("The People and Power") deplores the government's tactic of offering "bread and circuses" (in today's Russia, cheap vodka and cheaper TV entertainment) as the political narcotic of choice. Deep in his heart, he believes that, left to themselves, the Russian public would choose democratic socialism as a means of leaping the abyss. Igor' Bestuzhev-Lada ("A 'Standard Yardstick' Does Exist!") advises that to understand today's Russia, you must forget every official's democratic title: everyone is actually a traditional Russian khoziain (master). Nikolai Azarkin ("From One Liberal to Another") completes the troika of alternatives, fixing on Hobbes's belief that greed, fear, and rage are the essence of human nature. Since the market economy, in his view, has unleashed these animal passions, only the restoration of a Leviathan state can provide peace and security to the citizenry.