Russia’s Silent Majority: Speaking Truth to Power

Professor Piotr Dutkiewicz with Russian President Vladimir Putin

The FPA Research Excellence Award Symposium

Public discussion on Social Change in Modern Russia

After growing up in Poland and spending years in Russia as a PhD student, Professor Piotr Dutkiewicz has a deep understanding of the Russian people, including those who comprise the “silent majority”: those who have no voice in the halls of power.

“I’m from a country where the majority wasn’t involved in key economic processes. The majority of crucial, deep reforms were imposed from above without any consultations with the citizens,” says Dutkiewicz, a professor in both political science and EURUS. “So this issue of being consulted and involved in a political process is a deeply personal question.”

As a recipient of the Faculty of Public Affair’s Research Excellence Award, Dutkiewicz used his grant prize to seek out leading Russian economists, sociologists and political scientists who had conducted research within the Russian population. Together, they compiled a book edited by Dutkiewicz and Kulikov entitled, The Evolution of Russian Society Since 1991: Actors, Attitudes and Practices.

Their findings will also be the focus of the Research Excellence Award Symposium on March 17, which will feature Russian experts on social  transformation .

“Most books about Russia are written from the perspective of power politics,” explains Dutkiewicz. “But what’s missing are the stories of ordinary people and how the transition from communism to a market system affected their social structure, their lifestyle, their values.  All of that is absent from the Russian official discourse.”

Dutkiewicz and his research colleagues reviewed twenty years of research on ordinary Russians and found their society, attitudes and values have been constantly changing as they adjust to the economic and political environment.

At the same time, the Russian people are worried about unemployment and education among the youth, the social safety net, political corruption and a lack of transparency within the Russian political system.

According to Dutkiewicz, it appears the Russian political elites and counter-elites aren’t paying close attention, which he calls potentially dangerous.

“It is particularly important that the voice of the “silent majority” is heard because they will pay for the current decline and restructuring of the Russian economy,” says Dutkiewicz. “Otherwise they might revolt. Economic problems become political problems.”

As a member of the Valdai Discussion Club, an think-tank supported by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Dutkiewicz believes the book will resonate within Russia, as it features very well-known, respected Russian scholars. It will be released there in the late spring, followed by a Western release later in the year. Dutkiewicz says the book holds similar lessons for the West, as well.

“The elites can run a system for quite a long time, but at a certain point—particularly when there are economic difficulties—you realize that without the support of the majority, you cannot run the country,” explains Dutkiewicz. “Wise politicians know when that moment is coming. If they don’t, they lose control of the situation.”

Dutkiewicz says he and his colleagues had a “humble task”: to present a picture of modern Russian society based on reliable scientific data. Now, they have to convince ruling elite on both sides of the world to listen.

Article originally posted on the Faculty of Public Affairs’ website available here .