HOW DO YOU SLAY A DRAGON?

Few people among the opposition worry about the effectiveness of the state apparatus for the simple reason that their thoughts are dominated by two problems with power in Russia: the lack of democracy, and corruption. Many of them honestly suggest that all you have to do is solve one of these issues and everything else will fall into order behind it. The Russian opposition seems to believe in the old Russian tradition of relying on luck when it comes to the administration of the state: once democracy prevails, corruption will simply disappear, and everything else will follow.

It’s not difficult to see where such an idea comes from. In a situation where the main task for the opposition is the battle against an authoritarian regime – and, what’s more, one that is degenerating into neo-totalitarianism – it seems only natural that the principal item on the agenda should be democratisation. And to some extent this is true. But something that doesn’t seem so important today will become one of the biggest headaches tomorrow, when the temporary government starts to carry out its functions. The new authorities’ ability to survive and demonstrate their superiority over the old government will depend also on how they show that they can quickly and effectively construct an efficient state apparatus.

Unfortunately, democratisation in itself doesn’t create an effective state apparatus. This depends on the quality of the new bureaucracy. And democratisation can often complicate this issue. Contrary to what many people think, democratisation and improving the efficiency of the state apparatus are not only separate tasks, but ones that can actually interfere with one another. When democratisation takes place rapidly and spontaneously, discipline can slacken, unbalancing the institutions of state. This isn’t surprising. But it can be very dangerous as the new government is taking its first steps, if it doesn’t move to restore discipline and generally raise the effectiveness of the bureaucratic system. If democracy isn’t based on a properly functioning state apparatus, then it will simply discredit the very idea of democracy itself.

Despite what many people think, the unprecedented scope of corruption in Russia doesn’t represent an insurmountable barrier to building an efficient, modern civil service. On the contrary, having a properly functioning civil service would be the first step to overcoming corruption in Russia. Of course, it’s impossible to wipe out corruption completely in any country. We can see how widespread it is in the West; and, what’s more, how actively the Putin regime makes use of this to further its influence. But it’s well within the capabilities of the temporary government to bring down the extreme levels of corruption that we see in Russia today. So corruption shouldn’t be presented as an unassailable obstacle or the main problem.

Corruption in Russia today has been artificially created by the current authorities and supported by political means. If it’s not encouraged externally then it will genuinely reduce relatively quickly. The point is not that officials are inclined to take bribes, but that instead of battling against this inevitable phenomenon, the current regime relies on exploiting and cultivating corruption. In modern Russia it’s simply impossible not  to take and give bribes, and anyone who doesn’t do this becomes doubly dangerous for the authorities. Corruption oils the wheels of Putin’s terror machine. Without it, this sort of state structure is incapable of operating. Remove the political motivation, stop seeding corruption from above as a way of controlling the elite, and you’ll see how the infamous and unsurpassable “Russian corruption” rapidly decreases to average world levels. Of course, it won’t disappear entirely, just as it hasn’t disappeared in America or in Europe, despite all the achievements of Western civilisation. But it will become a controlled evil, rather than an instrument of coercion. I’ve noticed that if corruption consumes more than two per cent of a state budget, it becomes a threat to the very existence of that state. In such a case it’s not corruption itself that you have to fight, but the system of control that has made it so huge, because if it’s not stimulated in this way then it simply can’t grow all by itself.