Irréformable Russie

Résumé En

Analysing the Gorbachev / Yeltsin era, the author addresses a fundamental question : why is it that in Russia liberalising social and economic reforms always fail ? There are several answers to this question : 1 . The reformer(s) fail to take into account the hopes and aspirations of the people themselves. 2. They have no faith in society's creative ability. Hopeless dreamers and ardent idealists, they have, generation after generation (Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Alexander II, Lenin, Gorbachev, Yeltsin / Gaidar) either been unaware of, or chosen to ignore, their people. They have posed as saviours, deserving, as they saw it, of the people's eternal gratitude. The frequently catastrophic results of their reforms force them (or their successor) to throw the reform movement violently into reverse. 3. In terms of the State's presence in the daily lives of its citizens, Russia belongs more to Asia than to Europe. This is a State that has grown too big, owns vast tracts of land, has huge industrial interests, and innovates in many areas. Its leaders very quickly realised that as the free market developed, so their power would wither away. 4. The Russian mentality (its values and behaviours) is imbued with the collecti- vist, "solidarity" ethic, as shown by the results of a study carried out in Novosibirsk in 1997. The Orthodox Church and its anti-free market stance is a further problem. As a result, the author is highly sceptical as to the prospects for the emergence of a market economy and democracy in Russia. "In our country", he pessimistically concludes, "the market economy is the end, and the means of achieving this end is to make people suffer."