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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 4 of 4
The lure of an omniscient state
Despite being critical of reduced press freedom, however, Sheveleva can see the appeal of Putin's administration.
"When you talk to ... people who are close to power, they are so optimistic and they just involve you in this feeling. You think, 'I should be with them. I should be a patriot,' " says Sheveleva, recalling an interview with one of Putin's press secretaries. "The happiest people work in the administration of the government."
But still, she and Chukovskaya struggle to understand how their fellow citizens can be happy with Putin's government, and chalk up their compatriots' contentment to a long-cultivated image of the state as omniscient provider.
"The old generation, they vote for United Russia, and you say, 'Why? Your pension is so low, the healthcare system is so bad,' " says Sheveleva, who as part of her job takes calls on the air from BBC's mainly elderly shortwave radio audience. "And they say, 'the government is strong, they know what to do, they know how to run this country.' "
For Chukovskaya, who has all the restraint of a Kentucky Derby contender in the starting gate, such unquestioning reliance on the state has no place in a democracy.
"For me, democracy is something where the people are involved," she says. "You know how English parks are made? They watch where people walk and then they build paths there.... Here, no," she adds, explaining how her mother's neighbors keep treading the old path in the grass instead of using a new walkway nearby. "They will give you the model, will tell you what to do.... Maybe for some people that's good. A lot of people think we need Stalin back (see story).... For me, democracy is where I'm involved."
"When you go through your favorite path," interjects Sheveleva – not theirs.
"And someone cares that I want to," agrees Chukovskaya. She's not sure what her path will be – maybe a PhD program in Europe or America. But she can't imagine leaving Russia. Her role models are not stars or czars, but friends like Sheveleva. What's her counsel?
"In every time, there are a lot of people who are educated enough – they are the core of society, they are the moral leaders," says Sheveleva. "[Nobel laureate and novelist Alexander] Solzhenitsyn was such a person in the '80s, and the real thing we can do is to become such moral leaders."
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