¹ 2 - 2014
Polyakov L.V.

Decline of Plebiscitary Democracy?


Analyzed in this book review is the unique experience of a representative panel investigation of Russian electorate’s political preferences, political literacy, ideological preferences and media consumption. The investigation was carried out by the All-Russian Central Institute of Public Opinion during the 2011 2012 federal election cycle. The collective monograph published on the basis of this investigation provides the reader with a broad knowledge of the characteristics typical for the Russian electors’ behavior and with a possibility to suggest a number of hypotheses about the character of the Russian political regime and its prospects. The main hypothesis is that we are observing an essential change in the Russian political culture which can be described as transition from democracy of the “plebiscitary” type to the alternative democratic pluralism. Moreover, the transition itself will turn out to be rather contradictory and conflict-bearing. This hypothesis is estimated in the review as convincingly substantiated.