New Tasks for Traditional and New Actors in Contemporary Russia

Events of the last decade in Russia have demonstrated the increasing role of society as a whole on the conduct of policy. Although the most reliable and effective instruments of domestic and foreign policy are in the hands of a small political elite, we are witnessing the emergence and strengthening of new actors that aim to influence socioeconomic and political processes, especially at the local level. The gap between elite views and those of the rest of society is shrinking, in part because of these actors. Russia’s central and regional governments recognize that community-based nongovernmental organizations and new actors have a significant role to play in the country’s transition to a functioning civil society. The members of the Public Chamber, created by President Vladimir Putin, include many representatives of these new actors.