Девиантность, преступность, социальный контроль в обществе постмодерна - [92]

The disintegration of production and economy continuing. Power still returned to the ruling nomenclature (with new «oligarchs» and criminals); corruption, common in Russia, has taken on a monumental role in all organs of power, establishment and law-enforcement bodies; crisis in the health, education, transport and other social services; crises of spirituality and morality continues; and the militarization of economics and politics also continue.

There is now a growth in the role (importance) of the power structures – FSB (the former KGB), MIA (Ministry of Internal Affairs), and other. The war in Chechnya is a terrifying evidence of neo-totalitarianism. The country also permits human rights abuses on a large scale, particularly in the army and those penal institutions where tyranny and torture dominate (Abramkin, 1998; Christie, 2000: 79-90; Index on Censorship, 1999; Walmsley, 1996: 358-386). Nationalist, anti-Semitic and neofascist groups operate with impunity and meet with no resistance. Attacks against mass media in opposition began in 1999-2000 and continues to date.

The ever-growing economic polarization of the population – visible in the stark contrast between the poor majority and the nouveau riche minority (the «New Russian») – is a guaranteed source of continuing social conflict. The official unemployment rates in Russia were as follows: 1992 – 4.8 % of the able-bodied population; 1993 – 5.5 %; 1994 – 7.4 %; 1995 – 8.9 %; 1996 – 9.6 %; 1997 – 11.9 %; 1998 – 13.3 %; 2003 – 8.9 % (Human Development Report, 1999: 57; Questions of Statistic, 2004: 31). Today, unemployment in Russia stands at 5.2 %. From 2002 to 20 12 the average unemployment rare was 8.3 % (Trading Economics 2013).

Technological backwardness and the absence of competition in domestic production and the service sectors have manifested themselves in the course of the reforms. A consequence of this is the inferiority complex of employees, their de-qualification, marginalization and lumpenization. The excluded population in the face of corruption engages in deviances, including crime (Lenoir, 1974; Paugam, 1996; Finer and Nellis, 1998; Young, 1999).

Legal system

According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation (Russia) there are levels of legal institutions (Art. 118, Part 2):

– The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation

– The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation

– Courts of the subjects of the Russian Federation (Supreme Courts of the smaller republics in remote parts of the Russian Federation); regional – «krai», «oblast», «autonomous regions» courts; Moscow and St. Petersburg city court

– Area (district) and city courts

– Martial courts

– Arbitral courts (the Supreme Arbitral Court of the Russian Federation; arbitral courts of the subjects of the Russian Federation).

The goals of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation are protection of Russian sovereignty; defence of the constitutional structure; defence of the general rights and freedoms of population; and guarantee of the application of the Russian Constitution in all territories of the Russian Federation. Martial courts are included in the common legal system. The arbitral courts resolve disputes between juridical persons.

It is a pity, but contemporary Russian judicial system is not independent. First, many judges are very corrupted. Secondly, many courts depend upon politicians and power. For example, often the Basmany court would decide a case in favor of a power base. «Basmany court» is now common jargon for lack of independence and injustice in the Russian justice system[501].

Finally, there are the «mirovye sud'i» (magistracy). They try cases that are not very important (administrative and civil delicts, minor criminal delinquency).

The Office of Public Prosecutor

The goals of this institution are protection of the law's leadership and the unanimity of law; defence of the rights and freedoms of people; and defence of the legal interests of society and the state. The organizational basis of the Office of Public Order is the principle of one-man management. The General Prosecutor is the head of the Office of Public Prosecutor. There is an Office of Public Prosecutor in each region, city, and district of the Russian Federation. The important functions of the prosecutor are common supervision of public order and legality, criminal investigation, and prosecution of cases.

There is an Advocatory Chamber (the Bar) in each subject of Russian Federation. The Bar is independent of the government and includes advocatory collegiums, juridical offices, and individual barristers. There are three new organizational forms of the Bar, while only advocatory collegiums existed in the former Soviet Union.

System of Government

Russia has an area of 6,593,000 square miles. The population in 2011 was 141,930,000, and in October 2012, the population was 123,300,000. In 2010, ethnic Russia constituted 81 % of the population (World Bank 2012).

The contemporary Russian Federation (Russia) came into existence in 1991 after the breakdown of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Russia includes 21