The above article discusses the poor living conditions of the workers in a small Russian town which has been hard-hit by the economic crisis.
Due to the crisis, the three factorys(huge employers in the town) in the small town of Pikalevo have closed down meaning many have lost their jobs. The town can no longer afford electricity and hot water. Residents are forced to live off nettle soup and dandelion salads.
Many people are discontent that the government appears to be doing little to help their situation and have begun to take part in demonstrations. As officials gathered to discuss the situation last Wednesday, locals began to mass outside the town administration's building. Eventually around 100 of them broke into the meeting room. Residents say they don't want war or conflict, just action by the government.
This situation is likely to occur in many other towns due to many of the ex-Soviet structures in the country.
The protests are unlikely to turn into a popular, coordinated revolt, say most analysts, as opposition infrastructure has been crushed over the past decade.
"There won't be a revolution," says Mr Oreshkin. "But we may well see more of these incidents and they could turn violent."
This is an example of inequality causing dissatisfaction among the poor causing collective action. The owner of the factories is worth $40billion so this shows the extent of the inequality in the town. Due to this we could use Boix' model to explain why the people are beginning to revolt.
With many towns nearing similar situations in Russia we can only wait to see how such demonstrations will eventuate.
Due to me writing the essay on Economic Sanctions I have been rather drowned in Boix. Overdose perhaps. Anyhow, it is quite an interesting situation as it demonstrates something that I see as a failing in Boix's model which is that it does not adequately focus on how opposition to the government occurs. This is a perfect case of extreme inequality, yet there is little to no chance of revolution as there is no well organized opposition movement. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteThis situation is likely to occur in many other towns due to many of the ex-Soviet structures in the country?
ReplyDeleteCould you please explain what you mean by what? I am not sure how it links to what is happening? what do you mean due to the many ex-societ structures?
This article shows what Russia truely is. Russia is not a great power as Putin and Medvedev want to show. Russia needs to fix phenomenons like this in order to be able to compete with the great powers. And as Natalie says, this knid of events could be really harmful for Russia, because small revolutions could spread accross the country.
ReplyDeleteThese people did not receive their pay for three months! No wonder they were angry. Although I don't think this sort of thing is that uncommon. This type of thing is happening all over the world at the moment. We will be seeing much much more of it. Without having to read between the lines, even New Zealand is in trouble financially, today the government announced it cannot afford tax cuts.
ReplyDeleteEven if these protests grew in number and turned violent Putin and the Russian military would crush them because of the sheer might of the Russian military. The popuklation does not have the resources to stage a effective violence to achieve there goals.
ReplyDelete