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Russians' political apathy frustrates feisty young journalist
Anastasia Chukovskaya sees a desire for stability that comes at the expense of freedoms.
from the February 28, 2008 edition
Page 3 of 4
Broad sense of helplessness
Though people like Chukovskaya see much that needs correcting, she and many others describe an overwhelming sense of helplessness – rooted in a history of life under overbearing rulers – that stymies any efforts at reform.
"Nobody feels that we have the power to change anything," she laments. Indeed, according to a recent survey by the liberal Levada Center, 67 percent of Russians feel they have little or no influence over government policy.
Sitting in an upscale cafe, a scarf thrown loosely around her rebellious long hair, Chukovskaya roots her society's submissiveness in Russian Orthodoxy's legacy. "When we had czars here, people were sure that they were divinely appointed by God," she explains. "Now, they think that if someone has power over you – a pope, president, or boss – they are divinely appointed. That's why you just have to listen and do what you have to do."
As journalists, Chukovskaya and her friend Alexandra Sheveleva, who joins her after a long day at the BBC, see that servitude playing out in the press.
"I think chief editors and editors know ... how news should be cooked," says Ms. Sheveleva, poring over the menu, which offers tea starting at $8 a cup.
Government supporters often counter such criticism by pointing to Ekho Moscovy, a hard-hitting radio station based in Moscow. But Chukovskaya discounts its existence as evidence of freedom of expression. "I have the feeling as if it is there for the government to say, 'Oh no, we have opposition,' " she says.
"Our radio exists for Condoleezza Rice," agrees Sheveleva dryly, noting the US Secretary of State's concern about democracy's decline under Putin.
But without a network of robust democratic institutions, such outlets don't have the same ability to act as a catalyst for public scrutiny as those in the West – whose stories often spark political activism, court cases, or government investigations.
"What's key about lack of press freedom," Ms. Lipman of the Carnegie Center says, "is that even though there is some investigative reporting, this does not make officials any more accountable because of what's printed."
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