Three Decades of Social Transformation in Russia: From a Totalist Society to a Civil Society

Abstract To review and evaluate the transformation of Russia at the historical juncture of the 30th anniversary of the Soviet collapse is an essential task. Compared with political and economic transformation, social transformation is more complex, slower, and more uncertain. This paper seeks to examine Russia’s social transformation from a totalitarian to a civil society from the perspective of the state-society relationship. Viewed from Western theories of civil society, the social transformation of Russia has not been a success: citizens have a low level of self-organization, civil rights are not genuinely guaranteed, and state power constantly intervenes in civil society. However, this transformation has achieved the goal of social solidarity. We need to reflect upon the concept of social transformation and gain an understanding of the structure of and changes in Russian society by taking into account its cultural logic and historical context.