The New Russia? Yes. Comment on Recent Findings from ‘Is New Russia New?’

Abstract

Vasiliy A. Anikin – PhD in Economics, Associate Professor, Faculty of Economic Sciences, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Social Policy, National Research University Higher School of Economics; Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences. Address: of. 4331, building 4, 26, Shabolovka St., Moscow, 119049, Russian Federation. E-mail: vanikin@hse.ru

Citation: Anikin V. (2017) The New Russia? Yes. Comment on Recent Findings From ‘Is New Russia New?’. Mir Rossii, vol. 26, no 4, pp. 51–70. DOI: 10.17323/1811-038X-2017-26-4-51-70

This paper addresses the general question raised in the recent study ‘Is New Russia New?’ (2016).
The author of this article develops the idea that new Russia is new. He argues with some of the findings of the considered study. The main points are as follows: the changes in Russia are better understood within a transitional discourse; the unique way of Russia is to constitute
a Democratic Power integrated within a European civilization; the ‘statist’ path of Russia is not a curse, but a tunnel of opportunities for social solidarity; the social structure of Russia is mostly based on income stratification and class elements, which are likely to coexist with post-industrial traps, like unskilled labor, or the precariat; the human development of Russia is higher than in the Soviet Union, though its growth has reached saturation point; neoliberal policy is a kind of new rut for Russia, which crucially obstructs the structural reforms and perspectives for its successful transition towards the informational age that has yet to arrive.