In Volgograd, participants of conference claim suppression of social activities in region

In the Volgograd Region, the emergence of a strong civil society is hampered by the lack of dialogue between public organizations and the authorities. This was stated by participants of the conference held in Volgograd on June 29. They discussed the obstacles faced in the region by the initiatives for protection by citizens of their rights and environment of the region of the Khopyor River.

At the marketplaces of Volgograd and in districts of the Volgograd Region, there is practically no control over protection of the rights of buyers. This was emphasized by Yuri Golder, the chairman of the local organization for protection of consumers.

Homeowners' associations (HOAs) often face a negative attitude towards them, notes Maxim Dudin, the chairman of the HOA "Otrady".

According to him, the local authorities raise difficulties for managers of the HOAs and call on tenants to abandon cooperation with the HOAs and go to managing companies.

However, the problems are also associated with the passivity of the tenants themselves, who do not believe in the possibility to solve the problems of their houses.

According to political analyst Maria Turovets, one of the sources of public distrust of civil society initiatives is in the memory of the "civil 'state-run' organizations of the Soviet times, full of formality and simulations."

People were obliged to become members of the above agencies, and after the collapse of the Soviet Union, many people felt disgust about participation in non-commercial organizations.

Among the other reasons for the weak development of self-organization of the civil society in Russia, Maria Turovets has mentioned the low income and the low level of education of the people. And finally, according to the political analyst, the large role is played by modern legislation that subjects public organization under pressure of taxes and inspections.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.