The feeling of hatred exists with
in Russian society and it is pro
gressing. This feeling is growing and pulsating, and it sometimes under
goes the process of senseless subli
mation. I believe that there are new reasons in place today for its devel
opment, which can be explained by two things.

I think we can say that the pillars of representative liberal democracy – in particular, political participa
tion and the parties themselves – are creaking as a result of mass dis
trust of elites. If we look, for example, at the data presented by Robert Putnam, Susan Pharr, and Russell Dalton in their book ‘Disaffected Democracies’, we see that while support for democracy per se seems greater than ever, public faith in the agents of democracy (i.e. parties and politi
cians) and in representative insti
tutions has declined across the western world.

The mutual attitudes of Russia’s society and the political elites, who are meant to govern the popu
lation, are dominated by alienation that is gradually turning into outright hatred of the latter group by the former. Any Russian individual who is aware of his civil rights cannot help but resenting the local bureaucracy and the coun
try’s big business commu
nity.