Moscow. (RIA Novosti political commentator Vasily Kononenko) --
Polls recently conducted by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) have revealed a rapid increase in the number of people favoring radical political and economic reforms in Russia. There are almost as many advocates of radical reform as there are supporters of stability, which has been the main achievement of Vladimir Putin's presidency. What is it that has given rise to such unpopular and even risky attitudes?
VTsIOM analysts attribute these attitudes to a change in the list of priorities. Now that the former key goals of ensuring law and order, stability and security have been achieved, a need for a rapid improvement in the quality of life has come to the fore. The polls show that the main advocates of change are those who have successfully adapted to capitalism, and would like to ensure that they and their children will enjoy a good standard of living in the future.
Sociologists from the Moscow Levada Analytical Center, which has conducted nationwide polls on the economic and political problems of society, have drawn the conclusion that Russians are worried not only by the lack of rapid social progress, but also by the possibility that the state will "dump" social problems on its citizens.
Despite the wave of protests against the replacement of benefits in kind with cash payments, the government is planning to reform communal housing services. There can be little doubt that this latest reform will be to the financial detriment of the entire adult population.
This has brought about a situation that physicists describe as "pressure and counter pressure." People want an economic breakthrough but at the same time are wary of new social reforms. They want positive shifts, or at least some indications that their living standards will improve.
Stability is only welcomed when standards of living are high. According to various estimates, just 8% - 10% of the Russian population is wealthy. More than 30% of the population consider themselves "middle class," and believe that the country is moving in the "right direction," but at the same time they are demanding modernization. Meanwhile, the 51% at the base of this social pyramid are dissatisfied with their standard of living and think that the country has chosen the "wrong road." They also want change!
Some political scientists are referring to this category of Russians as "ballast" in the sense that if it inadvertently starts moving in the wake of mistakes made by the government or under the pressure of political tactics the social ship will list. There will be a fierce struggle in the run up to the 2007 parliamentary elections for this sector of the electorate. And there will be no shortage of promises of radical change.
